Broken Fire
by myellar
Summary: What if they didn't think of nightlock? What if Peeta died? What would happen to Katniss? Starts off at the end of THG with Peeta at the lake. Please R&R! EDIT: Sequel posted- it's called Flickering Flame.
1. Before

**A/N:What if Peeta bled to death and Katniss didn't think of the nightlock? Galeniss. Slightly altered in that, in this verse, Gale was never brought in front of the interviewers, and as such was never made Katniss' cousin. Starts from the lake scene in Hunger Games.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. EDIT: I had forgotten to put it here before, but in chapters one and two there are several quotes or descriptions taken directly from the end of the Hunger Games. This is partially as a tribute to the books, but mainly to maintain the sense that the universe slowly branched out from the canon one, not all at once. If it bothers you, please contact me, and I'll be willing to take them down.**

**Disclaimer Two: This is an old story, one I wrote in sixth (or seventh; it is not entirely clear to me) grade. While the reviews have been largely positive, I would like to remind you that I was twelve writing it, and the scenes/characterization obviously reflects that. Again, if there is anything OOC or poorly written that bothers you, shoot me a PM and I'll do my best to fix it. **

**Okay! Now that that's over with, here it is!**

"No," he says. "Do it." Peeta limps towards me and thrusts the weapons in my hands.

"No! I won't!" I feel desperate. I don't know what to do- and then it dawns on me. If he won't kill me I'll kill myself.

I yank an arrow out of the sheath and string it on the bow. Awkwardly, I point it at myself. I'm about to shoot and-

The weapons are gone. Peeta has already yanked them from my grip. He quickly tosses them in the lake, where they disappear with a splash. "I'll die faster." And he yanks off the bandage too.

"No!" I cry, and I'm on my knees trying to plaster it back on. He leans down and gently takes it from me. He makes a move though as to put it back on, then suddenly his hand jerks upward and now the bandage is lost in the lake too.

"You can't die Peeta," I say stupidly. "You just can't."

His leg is bleeding heavily. I look at the ground and see a growing pool of blood. Suddenly, his knees buckle, and he's on his back, down, but still with me.

"Katniss," he whispers. "I want you to live, Katniss. Don't be wrapped up in sadness. Live. Think of Prim, Gale, your mother. Live Katniss. For me." I do. I think of Prim, dancing merrily in the meadow. I think of Gale and me together, hunting in the woods. I think of my mother, watching her kids starve. I know I can't do that to Prim.

"I will," I tell Peeta. "I swear."

Peeta takes one last deep breath, then went still. The cannon booms.

I don't know what to do with his body. Flowers don't seem his thing. I finally find some camouflage things and do his body. Browns and greens cover him, obscuring most of his features. I know this is the way he would want to be. I kiss his forehead once, barely noticing the dirt that rubs off on my lips, and go to stand a distance away.

The helicopter comes and gets his body, and the trumpets boom.

I listen to Claudius Templesmith's voice. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victor of the 74th annual Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen. I give you- the female tribute of District Twelve!"

I hear the sound of a hovercraft and suddenly I am being lifted up on a ladder into a gleaming copter. There is a plain white room with soft couches and fluffy rugs. I glance around, taking in everything around me.

_I've done it. I've won. _The euphoria that should accompany the thought doesn't come. My mind is too focused on Peeta- _peetapeetapeeta- _for me to give much attention to anything unrelated.

An attendant comes in and gives me a glass of orange juice and a plate of delicacies. I take a few bites and almost vomit. My stomach is not used to such rich food. I settle on sipping on the orange juice but after a few minutes of that I feel queasy and set it down on the table.

The whole ride to the Capitol, my mind is on Peeta. I can't help thinking of what he said- 'Live Katniss. For me.' But what does living entail? Am I supposed to forget him? Despite myself, I know that the day will never come where he fades from my mind completely. He will always be there, even as a faint memory, that reminds me of the horrors of the arena.

I get off the hovercraft in the Capitol and they take me to a small hospital room. They stick me with a needle before I can protest and I am knocked out within seconds.

I wake up periodically to find an empty room with a tray sitting on my lap and a band around my waist restraining me. I eat the sparse meals they give me.

Once I see the Avox girl come in to give me food, and I ask her if I can see the others soon. She nods and leaves, and I go back to sleep.

I wake up again a little later to find the band around my waist previously restraining me gone. The outfit I wore in the arena sits at the bottom of my bed. I put it on and head out the open door. I try the first door and find it locked. Same with the second and third. I head down to the last door in the hall and find Haymitch seated at a long, oak table with Cinna, Portia, and Effie with my prep team in the corner. I can't imagine what Portia's for considering Peeta's- I cut off the thought as a fresh wave of pain rips through me.

I sit in a chair at the end of the table without anyone noticing. Suddenly Haymitch looks up from his spot at the other end and sees me.

"Hello, sweetheart. Glad to see you're finally awake," Haymitch says with a smirk.

Effie gasps and looks up. "Katniss! Congratulations!"

Cinna stands up and gives me a hug; Portia smiles and grins at me as my prep team bursts into tears and give me sloppy hugs.

"Well, sweetheart, you seem to be back to your previous state."

"Looks like they did a full body polish," Portia notes. "Like a newborn baby; flawless."

I look at my hands and find not only my new scars gone but all the old comforting hunting ones missing as well. I feel lonely and for some reason I long for Gale.

"Almost time for dinner." Cinna says lightly and leads me out of the room, almost as if he can sense my distress. I am glad to get away from them- I need time alone.

We have chicken breast and miniature corn cobs and cornbread, but I pick at the food, my ever-present appetite mysteriously missing.

Well. Not mysteriously to me.

After dinner Cinna leads me back to my room with the prep team, then disappears while they get me ready.

I look at myself in the mirror and instead of noting the lack of scars and injuries, I see my sunken cheeks and prominent ribs. I'm thin- too thin.

I get in the shower and they do my hair and nails. I don't listen, instead watching as Flavius slowly coats each of my nails with a deep crimson nail polish. I can only think of Peeta lying on the ground as he bled out, and I stood there, helpless.

Cinna comes in with a garment bag that contained what I assume is my dress.

"So," I say, trying to turn my mind to anything that doesn't even remotely involve Peeta. "Are you still going on the girl on fire thing?"

"You'll see," he says vaguely. "Close your eyes."

I close my eyes and turn away. I feel a dress falling over me and I am tempted to peek.

"Ok, you can look now." Cinna finally says.

I look in the mirror and see an alien. I am wearing a softly glowing dress made of yellow and white fabric that glows like candlelight. It hangs to right below my knees, and is loosely fitted, obscuring my thin frame.

"It's wonderful," I say honestly.

Cinna leads me to the area right behind the stage where Haymitch is waiting with the prep team.

"You'll be fine, sweetheart. Just try not to let them see how openly you despise them." I flash back to the beginning of the Hunger Games when he said something similar. It seems like it was so long ago.

Suddenly I hear trumpets blare and the prep team leaves the stage. Then Cinna leaves, and finally Haymitch. I'm standing alone, listening to the crowd roaring over my mentor. Finally, the applause dies down and the trumpets sound again. My cue. I take a deep breath and press my shaking hands against my dress. I slowly walk out onto the stage, and suddenly the crowd goes wild.

I see one throne-like chair sitting alone in the middle of the stage. Screens face the chair, and a few cameras are trained on it. I slowly walk to the chair, my knees knocking together.

I sit down and the lights dim. The TV turns on. Every year they have a story about the games- it usually lasts about three hours. Of course, it's hard to compress several weeks into a show spanning three hours. So every year they tell a story. This year, a tragic love story.

It alternates between shots of Peeta and I together and the dead tributes. Then, at the end, they show Peeta's death. Him on the ground, and me next to him, almost beyond crying.

I barely make it through the recap. The image of Prim watching me is the only thing that keeps me from falling apart.

I notice they show me singing to Rue, but omit the part where I cover her in flowers. Right. Wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

Finally, it's over and I stand to applause. I nod to the audience, barely managing a faint smile, and am allowed to go back to my chambers. I order my favorite foods from the menu- puffy bread rolls and hot chocolate- and sit on my bed, staring out the window as I eat.

The red-headed girl comes in and takes my empty mug and plate and tucks me into bed. I let her, and, feeling like a four year old, I drift off to sleep.

The next morning I wake up to the sound of Effie tapping on my door, telling me to wake up and get ready for my 'big big day!'

I slip on a white shirt and brown pants and head down to the breakfast hall. I grab a plate and load it with eggs and fried potatoes and some fruit and sit down to eat. I listen to Haymitch and Effie argue about something, and I grab another plate of rolls before I'm pulled into the conversation.

I glance around and see Haymitch waving his hand in front of my face.

"Come on, sweetheart. We need to talk about your interview. It's at ten. There's no live audience- just Caesar and the cameraman."

I nod absentmindedly as the prep team tugs me up and yanks me down the hallway.

It's the first time I have really talked to them since I got out of the arena. When they got me ready earlier, I wasn't really in the mood to talk.

They seem to be a mix of extremely excited and torn up about Peeta's death. I sit in the chair provided and they go to work.

Halfway through, Octavia bursts into spontaneous tears. "It's just so sad!" she sobs. "No more lovers from District Twelve!" She has to take a break to sit down for half and hour before she is calm enough to continue. When they're almost finished, Cinna comes in and dismisses them. He finishes my makeup himself. Finally he let's me get up and picks up the black garment bag on the ground. He makes me close my eyes and slips the the dress over my head.

I turn to the mirror, eyes still closed. "Can I open my eyes now?" I ask, trying to put just enough of an impatient whine in it.

Evidently I succeed, because Cinna laughs. "Yes."

I open my eyes and find a completely different outfit then I have seen yet. It is a dress, but black, as if I was mourning. It seems dirty, like coal dust is scattered across it. I am wearing flat black shoes and and very dark makeup. Purple lipstick, black eyebrows, and dramatic highlights make me look a few years old then I am. I look dangerous, and when you recall I just won the Games, I look more deadly still.

"It's perfect Cinna," I say.

He nods in thanks and takes me to the elevator. We head down to the room where the interview will be taking place and find only Haymitch, Caesar and the camera crew in there. There's a chair set up for Caesar and a throne similar to the one I sat in last night for the recap of the Games.

I sit nervously, perched on the edge of my chair. Caesar smiles and says hello. We exchange a few pleasantries, and then the real questions begin.

"So, Katniss, how was your time in the arena?"

I fight back a grimace. "It was okay. I can't wait to go see my family though." There. That's true and not too terrible. Well, it's _partially _true.

"I would too... did you learn anything in the arena?" And on it goes. I think I manage to answer them okay. At least Haymitch keeps from scowling. And then he comes with the worst question of all.

"Now Katniss, I know this might be a sensitive subject for you, but I fell obligated to ask. How do you think your life will continue without Peeta?"

I fight back the tears threatening to overflow. I take a few deep breaths. " I- I don't really know." Tears burn at the back of my eyes, and there's a lump in my throat that keeps me from continuing.

Cesar gently places his hand on my knee. Despite the oddness of it, it calms me a little bit, until I realize he's waiting for me to continue. "I- Peeta would have wanted me to live," I whisper, letting a single tear fall from my eye.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs, almost too quiet for the camera to hear. Then he turns to the camera and signs off, looking slightly apologetic as the tears continue to stream down my face.

I feel gentle hands on my shoulder and turn to see a hazy Cinna through my film of tears. He gently leads me out of the interview room and takes me up the elevator. As soon as we reach floor twelve I wiggle out of his grip and bolt to my room. I lock the door behind me, and collapse on my bed.

Finally I calm down and find I am starving. I order roasted chicken and a frothy creamy soup and sit on the edge of the bed eating them. I set the bowls on the dresser and strip down to my underclothes. Even though it's only one in the afternoon, I lay down and take a nap.

I wake up at eleven, screaming. I slip on some clothes and head to the dining room. I guess there will be a Capitol attendant who can get me some warm milk or something. I find a brown-haired boy in there who I ask to get me hot chocolate. I hear a TV in the other room, and I head in there to see Haymitch sitting on the couch, drinking from a bottle of wine. I slump in and sit next to him. He looks up, surprised.

"What are you doing here, sweetheart?" He says with less then his usual hostility.

"I-I can't-" I can't finish. But I don't need to.

"I know. Pretty soon, you'll be just like me. Although for your sake, I hope you don't turn out to be an alcoholic." He laughs and takes another swig from the bottle. Just then the attendant with my hot chocolate comes in.

"I added some cinnamon," he says, handing me the mug. I nod and wait for him to leave. He lightly bows and leaves the room, and I turn my attention back to Haymitch.

" Haymitch?" I ask. "What's it like, being a mentor?" I sound small, like a five year old.

"Well, certainly not good. Every year, you watch the kids you try to keep alive die. Of course, just you winning doesn't get me out of mentoring. I have to mentor the boy- you only have the girl. It should be much easier for you. It's definitely going to be easier with someone to help- and to have someone to tell you about it. I had no mentor at all... By the time it made it to my Games, the other victor from Twelve had died. Overdose of drugs."

I sink back into my chair, sipping my hot chocolate. I turn my attention to the TV... and find I am watching the Hunger Games. I see a boy with dark hair who looks a lot like Haymitch running through the forest with a strong boy on his heels. Suddenly he turns and throws a knife at the boy. It hit right in his neck and he falls.

I turn back to Haymitch and see he's staring at the screen, a blank look on his face. Right behind the carefully plastered nothingness is something though- remorse. I grab the remote from the coffee table and click off the TV.

He turns angrily. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"I-I couldn't- why do you watch that, Haymitch?"

"I don't know. Why not?"

"It's not healthy, Haymitch. It's bad enough you had to live it once. Do you really want to live it over and over again?"

Haymitch sighs and sets the bottle of wine on the coffee table next to where I put down my hot chocolate. "What else am I supposed to do? I'm stuck in that arena, Katniss." I realize it's the first time he's actually called me Katniss, not sweetheart. "If I watch it enough times, maybe I'll find a way out. One I missed before."

I see the look of pure- I don't know, sadness maybe, on his face am I feel a great wave of sorrow for him. "Can I watch? The whole thing?" I ask quietly.

He thinks for a moment, then nods. "You should know what I did. I'm sure when you see it you'll understand why you haven't seen it on TV much."

I nod, though I have no idea what he's taking about. I'm fairly certain I haven't seen it on TV, but you never know. I grab my hot chocolate and sit back on the couch as Haymitch turns the TV back on.

It's terrible. That's the only word I can use to describe it. I see President Snow announce that for this year's Quarter Quell, double the kids will be going in to the arena. Then come the reapings. By the time it gets to District Twelve, I am overwhelmed, simply by the sheer number of kids being sentenced to certain death. I watch as one, two girls are called. As I see the second one, Maysilee Donner, go up to the stage, I notice two girls clinging to her. One looks a lot like Madge. Then it hits me. Her mother. I vaguely remember she had a sister... I just didn't know she died that way. Then I see the other girl. I recognize her immediately. My mother. I notice no one has exaggerated her beauty. I watch as she and Madge's mother grip each other for comfort.

Next, the boys. I watch a big blonde boy get called. I see Haymitch a few people away from him, smirking. I look in his eyes and I can see he's hiding something. I just don't know what. Then he's called- but the smirk never disappears. It stays there, making him look like an idiot.

It flashes to him departing the train at the Capitol. He wears his arrogant smirk, and once and a while it flashes to a grin as he looks around at the ladies. For the first time for a District Twelve tribute, I see they actually like him.

I see the chariot races- nothing special. Haymitch didn't have a stylist as good as Cinna. Then they go right to the interviews. They only show bits and pieces of the other tributes, but since Haymitch will be the victor, we get to see his whole interview. I love one line.

"So," Cesar says. " What do you think of your chances with there being one hundred percent more tributes then usual?"

"I figure they'll be one hundred percent stupid as usual, so I think my odds are roughly the same." He flashed a snippy smile at the crowd. Indifferent, arrogant. I bet he didn't have to go deep to get that angle.

Then they flash right to the games. It's a beautiful arena with a blue sky and green grass, a meadow filled with flowers, a silvery mountain, and a wonderful woods. When the gong goes off, most of the tributes are mesmerized and stay on their plates, but not Haymitch. He's up at the Cornucopia and has a backpack full of supplies and all the weapons that he wants and is off into the woods before most of them know what happened.

Haymitch seems determined to get away from the Cornucopia. Everything in the arena seems to be poisonous. Fruit, water. Butterflies are deadly. It is only safe to eat the food and water brought from the Cornucopia.

I see the scene where Haymitch takes out the large tribute. Then the volcano erupts and takes out a bunch of tributes, as well as all but five of the Career pack. Then he gets caught by three Careers and has killed two when the last disarms him. Suddenly, a dart pops out and hits him in the neck. Maysilee jumps out, holding a dart gun and a poisonous fruit. Her darts are all dripping wet- it seems she soaked them in the fruit juices.

"We'd live longer if we paired up," she says.

"Guess you just proved that," Haymitch replies. "Allies?"

She nods, and they're drawn into a pact you'd be cold-hearted to break. They trudge forward the way Haymitch was heading. Maysilee asks why, but Haymitch won't answer until she threatens to break their alliance.

"The arena has to end somewhere, right?" Haymitch finally answers. "If we get to the edge, who knows what we'll find."

What they find is a tight hedge that none of their weapons can cut through. They circle around, but the whole area behind the woods seems to be protected by the hedge. Finally, they make it through with a blowtorch from one of the dead Careers packs. They find a cliff with a sheer drop. Haymitch goes and sits on the edge.

"Come on Haymitch," Maysilee says. "There's nothing here. Let's go."

Haymitch shakes his head. "No, you go. I'm staying here."

She shrugs. "Okay. There's only five of us left and I wouldn't want it to come down to you and me."

He nods and before he has a chance to say good-bye, she leaves. He picks up a pebble and chucks it into the abyss. A few seconds later it pops back out and Haymitch starts laughing. It's a force field, like the one of the Training Center's roof.

A few seconds latter a scream pierces the air. It's a girl's voice, and only one person in the arena is capable of making that noise. The only other girl is far to old. It Maysilee.

Haymitch runs to her voice to find she has been skewered in the neck by candy-pink birds. He quickly kills them and kneels by her side, watching her die. He was too late and unable to save her. Just like I was too late to save Rue. And how I was unable to save Peeta.

I finish my now cold hot chocolate. I watch as he fights the last obstacle- a girl from One. She accidentally chucks her ax into the abyss. Haymitch is now weaponless. She's thinking she can outlast him when the ax comes flying back out and buries itself in her brain. Haymitch struggles away from the body and the trumpets blare. He won.

I don't get to see the interview. It ends with a picture of Haymitch staring at the girl from One. And then the screen blacks out.

"There you go," Haymitch says flatly. "The entire span of the 50th Hunger Games, all wrapped up in two hours."

"You used them against themselves," I noted.

"And you wonder why you never see it on TV." He laughs once, coldly, then sets the empty wine bottle down on the coffee table. "If there's one thing I learned during my time- no just during the arena. My time alive. It's that no matter what you do, don't upset the Capitol. My- well, it doesn't bear thinking about. But I warn you- upset them, and they can do worse things to you then death. Remember that."

He leaves the room before I can respond.

**A/N: Review and PMs with comments are all welcome :)**


	2. Woods

**A/N: Thanks to the amazing people who review this! Really, it means the world to me. THANK YOU! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: i do not own the Hunger Games.**

I wake up and feel a slight happiness I somehow associate with Gale. I turn to see the clock. Eight. I have a full two hours to go until I can see my family and Gale.

I dress in black pants and a black shirt and head down to the dining room to find everyone's already there. I grab a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast and sit at the end of the table. Haymitch and Effie are talking quietly at the opposite end. I finish my plate and grab rolls and hot chocolate. I move to sit near them.

"So," I ask, "what's my strategy?"

"Just be nice. In a couple days the cameras will leave and you can do whatever you want. However, I suggest not actually kissing Gale until they leave," Haymitch says with a smirk.

Effie gasps and turns to me. "What?" She asks. "Who's Gale? Your best friend Gale?"

I frown. How did she know? Oh yeah. Interviews with the family and friends. "Yeah. He's just my friend though." I say, scowling at Haymitch.

Haymitch just laughs and orders a bottle of liquor which he uses to thin out the juice in front of him.

I finish the hot chocolate and rolls and grab myself a glass of orange juice. "So, Effie, do I have to wear anything special?"

"Not particularly- just a dress. Just braid your hair back- and wear your pin." I nod, and gulp down the juice before heading out to get ready.

By now I have only an hour. I hop in the shower where a sweet-smelling bubbles assault me. Until now, I have avoided thinking of Peeta by thinking of Gale- but I find it is impossible to now. I have nothing more to distract me for all my distractions have been exhausted. Instead, I interest myself with the pattern of the tiles in front of me.

I get out of the shower and dry my hair quickly with the machine attached over head. I go to my room and search through the drawers, looking for something suitable. Suddenly, I see it. My mothers dress. A kind attendant must have taken it from the tribute train and placed it on the victors train. I slide it on and braid my hair, then slip the pin into it's slot. With fifteen minutes to spare, I go see Effie.

"No!" she cries the moment she sees me. _What?_ I think hazily. "No, Katniss, you need to wear a different dress, not that one. You can take it home, but not wear it.

And so I grumpily go change into a cream-colored one.

I get out at the last second. Effie throws me a bag to put my dress in, but its far too frilly and just won't do. I go searching until somewhere I find what seems to be a tribute parachute, but maybe I'm imagining it. I fold up the dress in the cloth and I'm ready.

A few minutes later the train slides to a stop. I run to the door, ready to jump off and see my family, but Effie restrains me.

"You have to look sad," she reminds me. " You have to look sad and for that you need to be calm."

I nod, forcing the anticipatory smile off my cheeks, and turning it into what hopefully looks like a somber expression.

Effie nods in approval and allows the door to be opened. At first all I can see is a thick blanket of gray smoke. Finally it clears, and I see my mother and Prim. I run off the train and hug them, tears dripping down my face.

"I missed you," I whisper.

"Katniss!" Prim shrieks with happiness. "You won! Just like I asked you to!"

"Yeah," I say, leaning back and laughing. "Just like you told me to."

She's laughing too and we hug again. A minute later, my mother pulls me up. "Katniss," she says and pulls me into a gentle hug. I see someone over her shoulder and I yank myself out of her tender grip.

"Gale!" I call, and he turns his head away from Posy to find me. I run to him, where his arms are ready. I hug him tightly. "I missed you Gale."

"I missed you too, Catnip." We stay like that for a minute until my mother taps me on the shoulder and reminds me I have a few more people I have to say hello to.

I get congratulations from practically everyone. Madge, Posy, Vick, Rory, Hazelle, Greasy Sae, even Darius the Peacekeeper comes to say hello. But I never let go of Gale's hand as I drag him around behind me.

I finally get away from the crowds and head to where my new house should be. Gale, Prim, and my mother follow. Prim and my mother have been living in our new house ever since it was announced I had won the Hunger Games.

I find it's an extravagant house with several rooms upstairs and even more down. Ten of my old house could have fit in this one.

Prim gives me the grand tour of the house, but still I never let go of Gale. Finally, the doorbell rings and a group of people with a extremely sick man in the middle go straight to the kitchen, and Prim follows. I can only assume my mother is working her apothecary shop from the house, now.

I hear a gulp and turn to see Gale has a nauseated expression on his face. I am sure I am wearing a twin expression. He catches me looking and laughs uneasily. " I'm fine," he says. But I know it's not true.

"Well, I'm not," I say. "Come on."

We go to the woods. We head to the little berry patch where we went the day of the Reaping. It seems right that I would start my journey as a tribute and end it here.

"So," I say as we sit there.

"So," he says.

We sit in silence for a few moments, staring into each others eyes.

"You must be pretty broken up about his death." I immediately know who he's talking about, and although I wanted to talk to him about this, I had hoped it wouldn't come up until much later.

"I- I don't know. I was never in love with him, Gale. I mean, he was my friend, but never my lover."

"No?" he asks with a frown of confusion. I know him well enough that I can detect the hint of relief in his eyes.

"No. Friends, so it's not exactly easy, but still."

"I'm sorry Katniss," he says and gently crushes me to his chest in a slightly awkward hug.

"Well, it's not that big a deal." Even as I say it, my eyes tear up. "In a few days the cameras will be gone and I can do whatever I want anyway."

He smiles sadly at me. " I hope so."

I frown. "What do you mean?" I ask.

"I just- I don't want you to change your whole life story because the Capitol is forcing you to. You don't have to go back there ever again!" He sounds excited, joyful even, and I know if what he said was true, I would also feel that way. But it's not.

I slump down in defeat. " No," I whisper. " That't not true."

"What are you talking about? It's true!" Gale protests.

I need only say one word. "Haymitch."

Suddenly, a look of understanding crosses his face. "Haymitch- wait, you have to be a mentor!"

I nod sadly. "I have to mentor the girl tribute. It's the rules."

"But- but that's not fair. Haymitch-" I cut him off.

"That's not fair to him. He still has to mentor the boy too, remember? It's not like I have to do it all by myself like he did."

Gale sighs and nods. "I guess you're right," he grudgingly agrees. "It wouldn't be fair to him."

We sit in silence a few more moments. Gale has a far away look in his eyes. "Gale?" I ask.

"What's the Capitol like?"

Instead of explaining, I grow angry. I don't care how out of character this is for him. I don't care that it might be the result of a blurted wondering. I don't care that he probably doesn't mean anything by it. It angers me immensely. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying much attention to the scenery. I was too busy preparing for what I thought would be my death," I snarl.

"Wait! I'm sorry. Katniss!" he calls, but I've already run off. I run in the direction of the cabin. I make it in and fall to the ground, sobbing. The events from the Capitol are clear in my mind, but it's Gale that hurts me the most. I thought I could trust him.

Finally I calm down enough to realize I'm starving. The long run to the cabin, and everything else today means it's been a while since breakfast. I walk outside and glance up and notice it seems to be almost one. I wade into the lake right next to the cabin and see a few katniss plants. I remember my dad saying, "If you can find yourself, you'll never starve." It seems so long ago.

I also thought to get my bow and arrows out of the log so I easily take down a rabbit.

I take them inside and set them on a couple leaves on the ground. I've never done this before, but the arena taught me how to start a fire. I add very little wood, and it quickly dies out. Then, leaving the katniss tubers wrapped in the leaf, I set them on the glowing embers. Finally, I fashion a spit out of some sticks lying on the floor and stick some rabbit on. In a little bit I have a decent meal, which I quickly gobble up, and I wrap up the remaining two-thirds of the rabbit in some leaves.

I turn to head back and find Gale standing in the door staring at me.

"Gale!" I say. The look of surprise on my face quickly hardens into anger.

"I'm sorry," he says. He looks remorseful.

I ignore him and, taking my rabbit, brush past him, heading back to District Twelve. Suddenly, a squirrel crosses my path, and before either I or it have any idea what happened, an arrow's in it's eye. I sling my bow back over my shoulder, pick it up, and continue.

Suddenly, Gale is beside me. "You've gotten better," he says. Again I ignore him. "And you've gotten better at cooking things too."

Finally, I spin around to face him. "What do you want?" I demand.

"I want to talk to you Katniss," he says. "I'm sorry. I was just curious."

"You want me to explain it to you? Fine. It's metallic, fake. People there are like mutants. They have pink skin, or full-body tattoos, or gems embedded into their hands. The animals are strange. Cawing, rainbow birds; colorless alligators. The plants aren't any more normal. Miniature trees forced to grow in grotesque positions; red berries that mimic the form of blackberries. And the worst part- they don't know what they're doing it _wrong. _They're all so clueless and stupid and they never show any remorse."

"I'm sorry." He's silent for a moment, then adds, "I- I wasn't thinking. I guess I was just thinking it was somewhere like District 11, you know? Not a terrible place."

"It's fine. Speaking of District 11, did you hear the part about that?"

"What?" Gale asks in confusion.

"Rue explained District 11 to me. Didn't you hear?"

"No, I didn't. After you agreed to be allies it went off you, and then came back at night."

"She was saying it's more strict there- _they're_ more strict and they have a larger Peacekeeping force. It makes District 12 seem like some kind of safe haven."

"District 12, where you can starve to death in safety," Gale mutters in disagreement.

"Versus District 11 where you can starve to death in danger," I counter.

Gale sighs. "Sorry."

"It's fine, Gale." We're silent for an awkward moment, then: "What do you want to do?" I ask, changing the subject.

"I don't know. We could hunt a few squirrels, get some berries."

I nod, and we get to work. I give him the remains of my rabbit and he scarfs it down. He thought to bring his hunting bag, and we have another bag in there for the berries. We stuff it until it overflows, and then fill our stomachs until they're bursting as well.

I take the berry bag and attach it to my belt as Gale slings his game bag over his shoulder. We go to the hollow log to get Gale his weapons, then head back in until we get to the snare run. We check all the snares, and get rewarded by three fat rabbits and two thinner squirrels. We climb up a tree- although I get almost ten yards higher then Gale.

"Come on!" he complains. " Please?"

I laugh and clim down a little so I'm only a couple of yards above him.

"That's better," he laughs.

We quiet, and sit in silence, waiting for animals to cross our trail. A rabbit comes across and I hit it in the eye before Gale can prepare his bow. While I retrieve my kill, he complains to me. "You got _way_better. How am I ever going to get anything now?"

"You can take it all," I say. "And you can take some money too. I have plenty of food now- I don't need it."

He immediately shakes his head. "No. You get your usual share of the game and I get mine. And I am not taking any of your money."

I am about to argue when I see the look on his face and give up. There's no way he's going to give in.

Half an hour later we have a couple more squirrels and another rabbit but no big game. Suddenly, a young buck comes across the trail. Just like the one Gale and I got that I used to get Prim her goat, one arrow hit's the neck and another the chest.

I glance down at Gale and see the euphoric smile on his face. I can't help but smile.

"It's like the buck I used to get Lady," I say.

He glances up and smiles again. "Yeah."

It's eerie how similar it is. His arrow piercing it's chest, mine it's neck. The age of the buck. And even me and Gale, here in the woods, like best friends.

We lug the carcass to the edge of the woods so it's just concealed by the branches. But our parents don't know where we are. We agree Gale will go in and tell both our families.

I wait at the edge of the woods for over an hour. It's getting dark and I'm starting to think something kept him when he reappears. He slides under the fence. By now it's completely dark. I hold open a larger gap in the fence and he drags the buck through. I slide in after it and together we take the carcass to Rooba, the butcher.

"Ah," she says. "First day you're back and you're already back reaching high levels."

Gale and I laugh. From there, it's all business. She gives you one price and you can take it or leave it. You don't haggle with Rooba. It's a decent price and we take it, and, just like the first time we brought her a deer, she throws in a few venison steaks after butchering.

We hold in our hands more money then we've ever actually held. Even the first deer didn't catch this much. Despite now owning tons of money, I've never actually physically had this much.

I try to shove my coins into Gales hands but he closes his fists tight. I have to settle with walking him to his house and giving it to Hazelle.

"Hey Hazelle," I say. I always liked Hazelle. She was someone I looked up to after my father's death. The same explosion that killed my father killed her husband, leaving her with three kids and another coming any day. A week after she had Posy she was out on the streets looking for work.

"Hey Katniss," she says, interrupting my thoughts. "How are you?"

"Good," I say. We both know that isn't true. When Gale goes into the kitchen I take my chance.

"Hazelle," I whisper quickly. "We got a deer today. Rooba will have some venison steaks for you to pick up later. Here's the rest of the money. Gale has the other half. I don't need it now."

At first Hazelle doesn't want to take the money, but finally she nods and quickly hides the money under a bowl just as Gale enters the room.

"Well, I'll just be going," I say quickly and stand up, my chair scraping the floor. I head out the door and run to my old home before I realize Prim and my mother won't be there. I turn back around and walk towards Victors Village.

I don't which house is mine. I notice only two have lights on. I take a wild guess and head into one.

I can tell immediately that this is not my house. The floor is covered in debris. Animal bones, trash, and half eaten food lie everywhere. The stench rises up and envelopes me in a soft, smelly mist.

I turn and immediately leave. As I walk to the house I am now sure is mine, I think of ways I can improve Haymitch's living standard and ways to get Gale's family some more money. I'll continue to try to convince Gale to just let me give him money but I'm almost sure he won't give in.

With those two goals mingling in my head, it hits me. I should get Haymitch to hire Hazelle as his housekeeper!

I think about it, and the more I do the more it makes sense. It's a win-win-win situation. Haymitch gets a better living environment and Hazelle gets some extra money. Plus, I don't have to worry so much about them.

I find I am on my doorstep and quickly enter. I leave my shoes by the door and head upstairs to my bedroom, where I change to comfortable clothes before returning downstairs to eat supper.

I find my mother putting stew into bowls and Prim in the corner with a little girl and her mother. I head over to see what it's about.

When I get closer the first thing I notice is that both of them bear the signs of starvation, the girl more then the mom. It hits children harder.

Prim is slowly feeding a roll to the girl, and a bowl of stew sits on the counter waiting for her. The mother has a bowl of stew she is eating slowly herself, but her eyes are on her daughter.

My mother abandons the ladle in the pot and goes to the cupboard to prepare a bag of food for the girl. She stuffs it with bread and various other foods including crackers, apples, and berries. I turn back to the girl and find that Prim has given her the bowl of stew, which she slurps greedily.

She's soon done with the first serving, and my mother refills her bowl three times before she's finally finished. She hands the mother the overflowing bag of food and gives her a couple loaves of bread along with it.

After they leave I eat some stew with my mother and Prim. I feel tired, so I say good-night and go to bed.

As I go to sleep I keep thinking of how happy the girl looked after we filled her stomach and decide that's what I'll do with my spare riches. Although I'll keep enough for us, I can easily support ten other families along with Gale's and my own. I go to sleep thinking about my plan and how it will make a difference.

**A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**


	3. Aftermath

**A/N: To the people who review- THANK YOU. To the people who read but don't review- THANK YOU. To the people who favorite or alert but don't review- THANK YOU. Really, thank you to anyone who is reading this. I love you all.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

I wake up, the ideas from my plan for distraction still fresh in my mind. Instead of turning to alcohol like Haymitch, or turning to morphling like so many others do, I will help people. Not only will it keep my mind off the Hunger Games, but it will make me feel good.

When I try it out, I immediately find that it will not work. It doesn't take that long to feed someone, so it doesn't distract me for long. And often the gaunt bones of their faces make me queasy. I also notice that everything about them reminds me of the Hunger Games. They're hungry, just like we all were in the arena...

I sigh, hand a mother a bag of food, and see the little twin girls off. I won't try this again. It doesn't work. I'll still give them food, but I'll send it will Prim or drop it at their door's.

I head to the woods, the only place I know I'll find comfort. The only thing I have to look forward to is tomorrow, when the first of the twelve shipments of food arrive. One every month, along with some money, for me being a victor.

I stay in the woods all day, and when I emerge I hold a turkey and the results of Gale's snares. I know he went to the mines, and I figure he hasn't gotten a chance to do it.

I take them to Hazelle, who thanks me and puts them away. Posy's sick- she's got a cold- and I promise the next chance I get I will bring them some medicine.

I head home, thinking of the parcel day tomorrow to keep my mind off Peeta- lying on the ground, blood pooled around him, his face white and pale. I shake my head and push the memories to the back of my mind. But they don't disappear completely- they linger. I get medicine from my mother for Posy and I put it in my hunting bag.

When I wake, I feel excited. Parcel Day. Finally I get to see the full benefits of being a victor.

When I go downstairs, my mother serves me porridge, which I eat quickly. I run out to the square to see the first of the men arriving with the food.

Families come out and notice it all. They run forward, trying to grab things, but the Peacekeepers hold them back. Slowly, one by one, they hand out the food. I watch, fascinated by the amount of goods they bring out.

A teenage girl, not much older then myself, with a tin of meat and a baby sucking on a lollipop cradled in her arms. A little boy with a piece of hard candy. A middle-aged man with an entire turkey.

As I head back to my house after watching everyone take the food, I think of Peeta. I'm sure he would have loved to see that. Of course he can't. I swallow the lump that rises in my throat. I can't think about that now. Not today.

I trudge back to my house, my high spirits dampened. I flop onto my bed, the sadness overtaking me. Then I feel guilty. Rue. Thresh. Thinking about Peeta has distracted me from them. Just because he was my biggest ally in the arena doesn't mean he was my only friend.

I spend the rest of the day lying on my bed, covered in guilt. I refuse the food my mother and Prim offer me, even though I know I'm worrying them. This should be a day of happiness- not of guilt and sadness.

I eventually fall into a doze. I wake up to see soft strains of sunlight falling through my window. I get up and walk over to see the sunrise. It's beautiful, and although the guilt doesn't disappear, I shove it to the back of my mind. I can't keep feeling guilty, or sad. Rue would want me to be happy.

I realize today is Sunday and dress quickly. I grab my hunting bag too. It's Gale's day off. Gale has probably been able to live off the deer and the small amount of game I have been bringing, but he will want to save the rest of the money for things like soap or coal. I figure we can hunt today- and I can bring up the idea of me hunting for his family.

I go to his house and find Hazelle up.

"Hey Hazelle," I say. "Is Gale up?"

"No, he likes to sleep in on his days off. Rory and Vick are asleep too." Suddenly, I hear a cough. "Posy's been up all night coughing."

I pull the medicine out of my hunting bag and hand it over. "My mother said to give this to Posy."

Hazelle smiles gratefully. "Thanks. Gale should be up within the next half an hour."

I entertain Posy for half and hour minutes and feed her a bland breakfast of chicken broth and rice. When Posy's done eating I hand Hazelle a handful of coins. "I don't need all the money and Gale won't take it. Use it." Even after giving away all the coins Hazelle, my pockets still jingle convincingly enough to fool Gale that's all I brought. Hazelle puts the coins in the back of a drawer, hiding them in a small pouch.

Just as she slides the drawer shut, Gale walks in. "Morning Mom," Gale says. Then he spots me. "Katniss!" he exclaims.

"Shush, Gale," I scold him playfully. " Rory and Vick are sleeping."

Gale laughs, but quiets. " Sorry, I didn't know I had a second mom today," he whispers.

I laugh too, but somehow that hurts a little. I don't want to be his mom. I- I don't know what I want to be.

"I was thinking after you get up and ready we could head out to the woods. Hunt."

"Sure!" he says enthusiastically. "Only I have to be back by three- I promised Rory, Vick, and Posy I'd play with them."

"Sure," I agree easily.

He eats breakfast and we head out to the woods. We stop at the hollow log to retrieve our bows and arrows. We start by checking the snare run, and Gale sets up a new trap in the river that's meant to catch a beaver.

Halfway through we have one rabbit and four squirrels when Gale pulls me aside.

"Katniss," he says in a low voice, and somehow I know what's coming. I shake my head, try to get him him to stop, to tell him I'm not ready, but either he doesn't notice or doesn't care.

"Gale," I whisper. "I-"

"No," he cuts me off. Then he slowly leans in, and kisses me.

It's very short, and sweet. He pulls back and stares at me for a moment. And that's when the wild dogs attack.

Snarling, they charge us. Gale and I are wretched apart by the dire need to find a tree to get up in. I make it up a tree first, but Gale's struggling to hoist himself up high enough into the tree next to me. I can tell he's trying to tell me something, but I can't hear him over the wild growls of the dogs. Even as I take out three of the five dogs, one bites Gale on the leg. He cries out and falls, and gets bitten again on the arm. Before the dogs can hurt him again, they're dead. I run over to Gale, ignoring the cries of the last dog with the arrow in it's neck. Although I hit the others square in the eye, he was at the wrong angle and I was too preoccupied with saving Gale to kill the beast humanely.

I kneel next to him, and I notice the blood pouring out of his wounds. I look frantically around and see some moss on a tree. I vaguely remember someone using it as a bandage in one of the Games. I run up and rip it off, pressing it down hard on the wound on his leg. The bite on his arm is barely bleeding, so I leave it.

I use some vines to wrap the moss around his leg, but still some blood seeps out from under it.

Suddenly, Gale's eyelids flutter and he whispers, "Hide the meat."

Of course. Even when he's possibly dying he cares about the meat.

Quickly, I put all the little animals in a hollow tree and perch the wild dogs on the branches. Then I put our bows and arrows in the same hollow tree as the squirrels. I mark the ground with the dead rabbit and grab Gale.

He struggles to his feet and he limps to the fence with me supporting him. I crawl under the fence and drag him through after me. By now, he can't stand up by himself. I half drag him up, but he can't put any weight on his hurt leg.

"Help!" I yell frantically. "Help!"

A little girl runs forward. When she sees the wounds, she recoils slightly, then comes up to help.

"He got boo boo," she says seriously to me.

"Yes. Do you know Posy Hawthorne?" I ask her quickly.

She nods, a big smile on her face. "She's nice!"

"Can you go to her house and get her mama and send her here?" I ask hopefully.

She nods and runs off. I push the moss down on his wounds, but they keep bleeding.

Just when I've thought the girl couldn't find her, she reappears, leading Hazelle by the hand.

"Get my mother," I say. Hazelle nods, and sprints towards Victors Village.

"Did I do okay?" the girl asks hopefully.

"Yeah," I say, smiling slightly. "Here's your prize."

I dig a few coins out of my pockets and grab a bag of peppermints from my hunting bag. They were supposed to be a surprise for Gale.

She grins hugely. "Thanks, miss! Wait- my mama's gonna ask me who gave me these."

I force a smile out. "Tell her Katniss Everdeen."

She grins again. "You're the victor!"

"Yeah," I say. " I'm the victor. Now you better go home to your mama- she'll be worried."

She nods and, shoving peppermints in her mouth, skips off to her mother.

Just then, Hazelle arrives with my mother and Prim.

"Katniss!" Prim exclaims, my mother already getting to work on Gale. "What happened?"

"There was a pack of wild dogs. We were- distracted. Gale didn't make it into a tree in time. I killed them before they hurt him more."

I see Hazelle wince and immediately wish I could take that back. "Sorry," I mutter apologetically.

A hard expression crosses her face. "It's fine. How's Gale?" she asks, turning her attention to my mother.

"The arm wound is minor. The leg- most of the bite isn't bleeding, but one fang pierced the edge of an artery. If we can carry him back without letting the leg fall too far down we probably can save him."

Hazelle nods and with grim determination we all grab hold of him. On orders from my mother, Prim runs ahead and by the time we get back to our house she has a station set up.

We set Gale on the kitchen table, which Prim has covered in white cloth. My mother immediately gets to work, wrapping Gale's arm in bandages and stitching up his leg. Then she wraps it in white bandages.

Still, I notice the blood all over the floor and know he has lost a lot. Suddenly, he groans.

"Leg," he grunts.

I jump up, wanting to run forward and help him, but Hazelle holds me back, with help from Prim.

"Well, I have some painkillers..." my mother says unwillingly.

"Use it!" I say. "He needs it!"

"I just-" She sighs and goes to the cupboard to get the medicine.

The moment she injects it into his arm, he relaxes. A few minutes later, he fully wakes up. "Katniss," he murmurs. "You alright?"

I laugh. "Yeah," I say. "_I'm _fine. Even if you might not be."

"You take the meat to Greasy Sae yet?"

I sigh and shake my head. "o, I've been too busy taking care of you."

"Then go get 'em."

I sigh again. I wanted to stay with Gale. I settle on getting the meat as fast as I can, because Gale won't rest until I get it.

I drag the carcasses to the edge of the fence, after putting our bows and arrows away in the hollow log. Then I pull the carcasses two by two to the Hob, where I sell them to Greasy Sae for a good sum. I sell the other small carcasses to various people, and come back with my pouch jingling with money. When I get back, Hazelle looks up expectantly and I give her the money. "Here." I say.

Gale stirs at the sound of my voice, as though he's trying to reach me. "Katniss," he murmurs. Fresh blood seeps out of his wounds, staining the bandages.

"Shush, Katniss," my mother instructs me. " You'll make him move."

But even her saying my name makes him move. I run forward and grasp his hand. Prim pushes over a stool and I sit down.

"Don't move Gale," I say quietly. "Don't move." And, miraculously, he does.

I sit there, holding his hand, thinking about how he got hurt. Why did he kiss me? He knows just as well as I do that I can't really date for a few more months at the very least. But if I wasn't restricted by acting like a grieving lover, instead of a grieving friend, what would I have done?

I am able to think about it long enough to realize that I have no idea what I would have done. Suddenly, I feel guilty again. A real grieving lover who really was in love would never marry again. But I'm not a real lover. I'm the only one really grieving over his death- and I'm just his friend.

I stay there, even after my mother tells me I can go to bed. I wait. Finally, she stops working on him.

"He'll be fine," my mother says. " He'll just have to stay immobile for the next few days."

"What- what about the mines?" I ask.

"He certainly won't be able to work there for the next two weeks minimum."

Hazelle gulps. I can tell she's thinking about money- and food. I grab another handful of coins out of my pocket and hand it over. "Here," I say. "I have more money then we can do anything with."

She nods. "I'll give it to the other members of Gale's crew. We probably have enough to survive the next couple weeks."

I nod, mimicking her movement. "I'll keep bringing in meat."

Hazelle nods again, then excuses herself to go check on the kids.

That reminds me of Prim, but instead of finding her standing in the corner, watching uselessly, I see her helping my mother clean up all the blood. I wince and turn back to Gale.

I bury my face in his chest. Then the next thing I know, I'm being shaken awake by my mother, who's softly calling, "Katniss. Katniss, wake up."

I slowly pull my head up, and am about to rub my eyes when I realize my hand is still entwined with Gale's. I cough quietly and slowly pull my hand from his. Even the slightest movement wakes him.

"Katniss," he murmurs. "Katniss." One again, he begins to bleed, but this time only a little bit of the blood I see on the bandages is new.

"Shh, Gale. Stop moving." This time, instead of stopping, he moves more, trying to reach my voice.

"Gale, stop! Gale, wake up!" Suddenly, he jerks into consciousness. "Katniss!" he screams, voice high adn close to it's breaking point. "The wild dogs are attacking! Help!"

I shake him, willing him to come back to reality. How could a simple leg bite do this to him? He slumps back down and I know he has gone back to sleep.

"How could a bite- on the leg at that, do this to him?" I ask my mother, voicing my thoughts.

"It hit an artery, like I said. Do you know what that is?"

I shake my head, blushing. We never got much medical training in school, and I never bothered to learn anything from my mother. It didn't interest me as it interested Prim; I preferred hunting, a skill that could help our family out directly, instead of medicine, which we often went unpaid for for months.

"Well basically, it's like a really large blood vessel. It carries a lot of blood, and if it's hit, a lot comes out. I had to give Gale a lot of antibiotics, and the loss of blood might also be contributing to his hallucinations. The only way to make him get better faster is- well no, I won't mention it. It's too dangerous."

"What?" I ask immediately. "What is it?"

"Well, he needs a blood donation. It-"

I cut her off. "I'm willing to donate."

"But you can't," she explains. "There are different types of blood. At least a dozen. Chances aren't that you have the same type. His siblings have a better chance. But- there's still no guarantee, and they're far too young. Plus, I have no way of testing."

"Isn't it better to give him 50/50 chance of living instead of a small one?"

"Well, I'm giving him an eighty percent chance of living right now, even if it is with long term side effects. I cut that in half by giving him his siblings blood just randomly. I think we should stick with nothing."

I nod, because who am I to contest her judgement? My mother orders me to bed and although I'm sure I won't get to sleep, I lay down anyway, because Gale can survive a few hours without me. And maybe I do need some rest anyway.

I lay my head down on the pillow, and immediately I fall asleep.

**A/N: I would love to know what you think! Please review or PM me with your comments!  
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	4. Poison

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading this who take the time out of their day for my story. It means the world to me :) I love you all. Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

I wake up and for a moment, I am blissfully ignorant about the events yesterday. Then I remember. I jump out of bed and I want to sprint down the hall to Gale, but enough of my common sense has returned, so I abstain. I tiptoe quickly and, hopefully, quietly, down the hall, and find Gale already awake, and sitting up. Sitting up! I run over and hug him. He grunts. I pull my arms back quickly and take a step back.

"Gale?" I whisper uncertainly.

He grimaces. " Katniss?"

I break out into a smile. "Are you hungry?"

He gives me an odd look. "You can't cook."

I laugh at his face. " No, but I know how to warm up leftovers." He watches as I place the stew in a pot over the stove. A few minutes later, I hand him a steaming bowl of it.

"Are you sure you're Katniss Everdeen?" He asks me in a teasing tone. " I think- you know I think you and Prim might have switched places overnight."

I glare at him, suppressing a smile. "I did not switch places with Rue!" Too late I realize I have used the wrong name. Gale's eyes soften and I look away. I angrily wipe my eyes on my sleeve, embarrassed that even the sound of her name would make me tear up.

"Katniss," Gale whispers putting his hand on my shoulder and turning me to face him. I stare at him, not speaking. I feel the tears running down my face and ignore them. I watch Gale, just sitting there, propped up. And when he leans in to kiss me this time, I'm not shocked at all. And I kiss him back. When he pulls away it's only because we're both gasping for breath. A minute later Prim comes in and sees us.

"Katniss?" she asks uncertainly.

I cough and step back, my face beet red. "Yes, Prim?"

"Uh... can I get by? I need to make breakfast."

I nod quickly and back up, accidentally slamming into a chair. You'd think that after all my pain in the arena it wouldn't hurt, but it rams me right where I had the burn on my calf in the arena. Even after all these months, it still twinges sometimes. I hop up and down on my good leg, cursing. Gale struggles up off the table and tries to walk over to me. His leg collapses and with an grunt he falls to the ground. I rush over, the pain in my leg suddenly minor.

"Gale?" I ask him frantically. Fresh blood is beginning to stain his bandages.

"I'm-I'm fine Katniss," he says, grimacing. But his wound is still bleeding. The noise must have woken my mother because she comes in the room and sees Gale.

"Help me pick him up," she says matter of factly. I grab him by the legs and my mother grabs him by the arms. We put him back on the table and my mother rips off the bandages around his bite. The sight makes me want to faint. The wound is swollen and I can tell just by the sight of it it must hurt. I see the stitches have popped on the wound, thus causing the bleeding. My mother sits down and stitches him back up slowly, ignoring his protests. I go and sit by his head and talk to him the whole time.

Soon it's over, and my mom gives him some pills, and he starts to look sleepy. I can tell he was trying to say something, and I lean over him so I could hear him better.

"Katniss," he whispers faintly. "I lo..." and that's when he falls asleep. I lean over to kiss his cheek. I sit with him for a while, and only when I almost fall asleep do I get up.

I go to the woods, retrieving my bow and arrows from the hollow log at the edge of the woods. I head out to the snare run to check it and am surprised to find it empty, even though it had been a long time since I have checked it. Suddenly, I hear a crackle of twigs behind me in the woods. I turn quickly, my bow already strung and pointed towards my attacker. Just as I am about to let the arrow fly into the person's heart, I realize who it is. Rory.

I lower my bow immediately, though the scared expression remains on his face. Then he notices who _I _am, and relaxes slightly himself, although he keeps the small bow my father crafted for me pointed at my heart. From the way he's holding it, I can tell not only has he never fired a bow without help before, and that he would completely miss me.

I drop my bow and sheath of arrows and walk slowly towards him with my hands up. "It's okay Rory," I say. "I'm not going to hurt you. Now put down your weapon before you hurt me."

He hesitates then reluctantly drops his bow on the ground. With my prodding he drops his small sheath of arrows too. I glance in it and find that, sure enough, it has all twelve arrows in it and all of them are unused. Suddenly, I hear a slight rustle behind me. I turn again and see a squirrel scampering across the ground. I grab the child's bow from the ground and an arrow. A second later it's strung, and although the squirrel is almost out of sight I manage to shoot it in the eye with an arrow.

I grab it and turn back to Rory, placing the bow and arrows on the ground next to my kill. He staring at me again, as though he is frightened of me. I sigh. I should have just let that squirrel go.

"I'm not going to hurt you Rory," I say. "Don't worry." He's staring at my face. I reach my hand up to touch it. At first, everything feels normal. Then, slowly, my nose elongates into a snout, and I feel hair growing on my face. I turn to a reflective stream and see my face has changed into that of the mutt's in the arena.

I wake up screaming.

I am at Gale's bedside. I shake my head, and sit up. I look around. Judging from the angle of the light in the window, it's early afternoon. I turn to look at Gale and find him awake and staring at me.

"Gale!" I say. I notice he is still laying down. "Why are you laying down?"

"You were asleep on me, Catnip. I couldn't sit up or I'd wake you up."

I blush. "Sorry," I murmur.

"It's know, I noticed when you're asleep you don't scowl as much."

Instead of scowling at him to prove his theory, I sigh. Peeta had said something similar in the arena.

"Katniss?" Gale asked in concern. " Are you okay?"

I try to nod, but I find myself unable to move my head. A second later I burst into tears.

"Katniss!" Gale says in alarm. He struggles to sit up and I don't even have the power to tell him to stop. He leans over and puts an arm around my shoulder, a gesture that makes me want to cry even more.

"I'm f-f-fine G-g-g-ale."

"No, you're not," he moves over so he is almost sitting next to me." What's wrong?"

"I-I-I don't kn-now! I sh-hould be asked y-you that not the other w-w-way around! I-i f-feel l-l-like a b-baby!" I begin to stress out. " I just- the ar-r-rena, I'm just-" I fall into a fresh round of sobs.

Gale, ever the gentleman, puts his arm around me and comforts me until I calm down a little.

"Katniss, I can't begin to imagine what it was like in the arena. But I know, whatever it is, that you can get over it. You're the strongest person I know, and nothing can take that from you."

I lean in and before I can stop myself, I kiss him. I lean back, embarrassed and confused, only to find him smiling.

"Uhhh..." I jump up and run out. Back to the woods, where I know I will find salvation. I grab my bow and arrows and run out, trying to take my mind off the arena, Peeta, off of Gale yet I can think of nothing else. I only manage to shoot two small squirrels by the time the day is done.

I halfheartedly take them to Gale's, embarrassed they're all I've shot. When I get there I see Hazelle is sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey Hazelle," I say. "This is all I shot today. But I brought some more money. Here." I toss a small pouch on the table. It jingles. Hazelle somehow looks horrified. "Hazelle."

"Katniss," A voice behind me says. I spin to see Gale sitting on a chair next to the door. He saw everything.

"G-Gale?" I ask.

"Hello Katniss. I see we haven't been being entirely honest here have we?" He says, his calm demeanor making me more nervous then him exploding ever could.

"Gale, I never lied! I said I wouldn't give it to you. I never said anything about giving it to you mother."

"That's a technicality that doesn't matter. How could you do this Katniss?"

"How can I _help_ you? How can I just _watch_? I'm rich and you won't let me help!"

"Because we don't need your money, your pity, your sympathy, or your help! We're just fine, thank you."

"Well, your mother doesn't seem to agree so much with that. And isn't she the head of the household?"

"Katniss..." Hazelle lays a warning hand on my shoulder.

"You know, you're right Gale. You don't need anything from my family; help, money- me." And I storm out the door.

I sprint all the way home and up to my bedroom, not letting the tears fall until I make it to my bed.

I sob for a few hours before falling into a deep sleep.

I dream of Gale. He is following me through the woods, yelling at me about giving his mother money. Suddenly the woods morphs into the Capitol and Gale turns into Peeta. Peeta is telling me to 'live Katniss, for me." Then suddenly he os screaming at me that I don't deserve to live and I should just kill myself.

I wake screaming again, screaming that soon turns to crying. I lay there, sobbing .

The next Sunday when Gale has to come to my mother for a checkup, he ignores me when I try to talk to him. A month passes, and still he won't speak to me Then two. Three. I continue to try to convince him to talk to me, and I know there must be something more bothering him then the fact I gave his mother money. I know it hurt his pride, but how big would his ego have to be for him to avoid me for this long because of that? Four. Five. Finally, it's time for the victory tour they have halfway between the Games, just to remind people that the Games never really go away. Every year the tributes go to the various Districts and the Districts are forced to pretend to adore the victor and then they go to the Capitol. It's capped off by a return to the victor's District where the Capitol throws them a party.

The day I am set to leave, I try to convince Gale to talk to me one last time. I go to his house and Hazelle lets me in. Ever since that day she has been cold to me too, but not nearly as distant as Gale. I go up to his and Rory's room and knock on the wooden slab that serves as a door. I hear him say, " Coming, mom." I wait until he opens the door and slip into his room before he knows what happened.

"Wha- Katniss!" he says angrily, slamming the door shut. For the first time, I notice he is shirtless. He grabs a tunic from the floor and slips it over his head. "Get out."

"No. First I want to know why you have been avoiding me."

"You know why."

"No I don't. I know that me simply giving your mother that money couldn't have gotten you mad enough to stop speaking to me. What did I do?"

"Are you serious?" Gale asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Of course," I say mystified.

"You didn't just do that. Don't you remember? Or was it too insignificant?"

"What?" I ask, exasperated.

"You poisoned Posy."

**A/N: Comments? Review or PM me and tell me what you think!**


	5. Kiss

**A/N: Thank you so much if you're reading this right now :) It means a lot to know that you take the time out of your day to review this.**

**EDIT: I have gone back and revised this story, so this is the updated version, which is slightly different then the original.**

The first thoughts that run through my head are shocked. The next are telling me he is kidding. Then I realize he won't joke about something like that- something about Posy.

"What?" I splutter. " What are you talking about, Gale? Why on earth would I poison Posy?"

"All I know is you give her some medicine and a day after we had our fight, after she had been taking it for a few days, she gets even sicker. Then we stop giving her the medicine and she's fine."

"And that can't be because the medicine did it's job?" I fire back. I'm furious now, not that Posy was poisoned, although I am upset about that, but because he would suspect me of doing it. " And I didn't even give her the medicine. Since when have I ever known anything about medicine?"

"Well, you seemed to manage fine in the arena when the Peeta kid needed you to heal him!" He's right up next to me now, yelling in my face.

"Oh, wow, Gale. You know just as well as I do that I didn't even manage to do that well! He almost died Gale. How does that make me in any way a competent healer?"

"Maybe that's why Posy almost died! Because you AREN'T a competent healer!"

"And why would I hurt Posy!" I shriek at him, trying to hold the tears welling up in my eyes from overflowing onto my cheeks.

"I don't know," he says bitterly. " But I do know that you aren't my best friend anymore. That arena changed you, Katniss. You aren't the same."

"And how would you know? You barely ever see me? You've actually talked to me ONCE and that was when you tried to kiss me!"

"It was enough," he says in a low voice. His tone clearly states he wants to end this conversation, but I don't want to yet.

"How? What did you see that had so drastically changed in me, Gale?" I say in a sarcastic tone.

"You were different. You're- faster. At everything. Running, climbing, shooting."

"And how is that a bad thing?" I ask.

"Because you're also faster at assuming things. Faster at refusing to change."

I narrow my eyes, and am about to yell at him again when I hear a soft rapping at the door. I turn and yank it open to see Darius standing there. "You'll miss your train Katniss," he says. "We have to go now."

"One second, Darius," I say. "I just have one last thing to say to my friend here." My voice snarls over the word friend.

"You are a completely incompetent idiot. I did a lot for you Gale- yet you assume I tried to kill your sister just because I'm a victor and apparently the Capitol got to me. But ask yourself this- why would a girl who hunts to keep your family alive try to kill them?" And then I walk out the door.

I meet Haymitch and Effie at the train station and we board the train. Effie immediately sit me down and began talking to me about my plans for the Districts, but I ignore her. My mind is still on Gale. Namely, the issue of how Posy had been poisoned.

I think back to a few days after we had administered the medicine. The only thing I can think of at the time was the squirrels and Gale. How did that make him suspect me?

Then I get it. It was a day after our fight she got sicker. That told me it wasn't the medicine. The only other thing I brought to the house that I know might have been it was the squirrels. I think back and remember the shooting, and thinking the squirrel's meat was tinged a unusual color.

That's it. The squirrel poisoned Posy. They must have gotten the poisoning somewhere and when Posy ate it and it got her sick. But how is it the others didn't? Sure, Posy was younger and already sick so her immune system- or whatever my mother calls it- wasn't as strong, and she had a bigger chance to fall ill, but surely if that was true then Vick or Rory would have gotten sick too.

But what if only Posy ate the squirrel? The sick person in a family always gets the food, and without me hunting, they wouldn't have as much food as usual. And the reason that the sickness stopped when the medicine stopped being administered must have been because the squirrel ran out around that time too. But I have to talk to Gale to confirm my suspicions... and I won't be able to speak with him for another two and a half weeks.

The night passes in a daze and soon we arrive at District 11.

I am only aware of Cinna getting me ready, then leaving the train. My thoughts still remain on Gale. It was logical for him to think I poisoned Posy, since in a way I did, but I still don't understand how he could immediately assume it was me.

When I walk on the stage at District 11, I finally regain my thoughts. I suddenly realize that though I was supposed to memorize the Capitol speech, I have no memory of doing so. Suddenly, the words begin to pour out of my mouth. " I would like to thank all of District 11 for having me here today..." Effie must have done it with me. I make a mental note to thank her later.

As I speak I notice the families in the front row. Rue and Thresh's. On Thresh's side, there is a old lady who I assume is his grandmother, and a young pretty girl who looks nothing like Thresh. I assume this was his girlfriend- then see the black scarf wrapped around her waist. Her _fiance_ was Thresh.

I look to Prim's side and see five little kids, a man, and a heavily pregnant woman. For a moment my mind is completely consumed by the thought that after one of their children has been subjected to a terrible fate they would have more children only to expose them to the same risk.

I finish my speech, and now it is time for the personal add-ons. I haven't prepared anything. I clear my throat and after thinking for a moment I say, "I wanted to say that I am very thankful for everything you and your tributes did in the arena. And I am very sorry about what happened to them. Thank you for the bread." And I turn and walk off the stage.

I run through the other districts in a haze, not noticing much, only a few things. The boy with the crippled leg's little brother, who is blind. The girl from District 6's fiance, who I see marked by a black scarf. I can also see he has already turned to drinking. I notice Glimmer's mother, glaring at me.

The Capitol is marked by the constant parties and the frequent banquets. Effie schedules every moment of my visit until it feels like I am always either at a party or with Cinna as he prepares me for one.

The very last party is scheduled to last up until the moment our train leaves at one AM. It's another buffet- these have been popular at the parties I have attended. I pass by the little table with the glasses filled with Bingled- a sort of juice that makes you vomit- and almost vomit myself.

A woman walks up to me and tells me she is in charge of the weapons for the Games. She asks me a bit about my hunting. I manage to move a little so we are't so close to the Bingled, and grab a roll off a passing Avoxe's tray. I take a bite and realize I haven't eaten since breakfast.

The lady ends her conversation with me and walks off to go speak to another Gamekeeper. I look around and decide to start at the soup table. I find a delicious soup thats a foamy white and covered in dried strawberries and eat the whole bowl. I head around more tables and at each find something to eat. A plate of fried mushrooms and onions in a yellow sauce. An orange and lemon smoothie. Slices of turkey on mashed potatoes covered in butter and herbs.

I eat until I am bursting and cannot eat anymore. I then go over to Cinna, who stands alone on the corner of the dance floor.

"Hello, Katniss," he says when he sees me. "What are you doing over here? You'll be leaving in a few minutes. You better get your fill of everything."

"I'm good." Suddenly, Effie runs over.

"Katniss! Katniss!" She says frantically. "We're going. Come on!"

I yank myself out of her grasp. "One moment." I turn back to Cinna. I'll see you soon, Cinna," I say, and stand on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Good-bye."

"I'll see you in a few months, Katniss. Have fun until then. Good-bye." He smiles.

I smile back. " Bye."

Effie herds me onto the train and I wave to Cinna and my prep team as I board the train. And then finally I am going home, and I will be able to talk to Gale, and explain things.

The moment we arrive in District Twelve, I bound off the train to go searching for Gale only to find myself in the midst of celebrations. I had forgotten I would have to endure one last party here. I change my expression to the one of fake happiness that I have used these past few days and try to enjoy the celebration the Capitol has thrown for me here.

I notice the little kids running around, screaming with glee and holding oranges. I see a boy a little older the me kissing a girl a little younger then me. I notice the loose ring on her ring finger and know that they have just gotten engaged. But none of it keeps my mind off Gale. I search the party but find him absent. I want to go looking for him, but I know as victor I am stuck at this party until everyone else leaves.

Finally, the last group of people trickles off, leaving me only with Effie and a semi-drunk Haymitch.

"Hey sweetheart," he drawls, "You want to take me home?" Then he sees my face. "Or do you want to go kiss Gabe?"

"He's Gale, and he's _not_ my boyfriend," I snarl at him. I turn to Effie. "Can you take him home for me? There's somewhere I have to go."

She nods and I turn and sprint towards Gale's house. I knock and then duck so he won't be able to see it's me through the peephole. When no one answers, I open the door to a shocking sight.

It's Gale. Kissing Madge.

I gasp and back up. Gale's eyes find me. He pushes Madge off of him and stands up.

"Katniss!" he says.

I feel the tears coming to my eyes, but I don't know why. "I just have one question. Who ate the squirrels?"

"What?"

"The squirrels I brought the day before Posy got sick. Who ate them, Gale?" I know the tears must be beginning to drip down my cheeks, but I ignore them.

He looks confused and then the color drains out of his face. "P-Posy did. We put them into a broth for her."

"And did anyone else have any?"

"N-No."

"Thanks for doubting me Gale. I'm so glad you accused me of poisoning Posy, because you know what? It taught me just how ignorant you are." I turned and ran out and the moment I shut the door the stream of tears running down my cheeks turned into a waterfall. I run back to my house and up to my room, locking the door and ignoring Prim when she asks to be let in. I eventually fall into a dark, dreamless sleep.

**A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

**EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day!**


	6. Quell

**A/N: Thanks to the people who read this! Also, thanks for the kind feedback- and constructive criticism- you guys give me! It helps me a lot! R&R and enjoy!**

**EDIT: I have gone back and revised this story, so this is the updated version, which is slightly different then the original.**

When I wake up in the morning, I feel momentarily happy before the previous day's events flood back into my mind. I curl up in my bed, not noticing the lack of tears. I keep asking myself why it bothers me that Gale would kiss Madge- only to find that I don't have an answer.

I eventually drag myself out of bed and go downstairs. When I walk in the kitchen, my mother is at the stove, cooking porridge.

The moment I walk in she sees me. "Katniss! You're up early."

I just nod and sit down at a chair. She pours me a bowl of porridge. I pick at it, eating only a couple spoonfuls and a few blueberries. Prim walks in and my mother gives her some porridge as well before sitting down with a bowl herself.

I hear a knock at the door and peek out of the peephole to see Haymitch standing there. I open the door.

"Hello, sweetheart," he drawls. Even though it's only eight in the morning, he's drunk. "Did you hear? They're broadcasting the Quarter Quell tonight." Then he vomits all over the doorstep.

I sigh and help Haymitch stagger over to his house. He manages to make it to the bathroom before throwing up again.

I leave him sitting in the bathtub with the shower running over him. As I walk back to the house my mind is on the news Haymitch unknowingly gave me. The Quarter Quell announcement is tonight, and it could be anything. As I finish my now-cold porridge, I contemplate the possibilities. It could be that the younger you are the more slips you have. Somehow I don't think that one would be popular in the Capitol. Or it could be that victors are tributes again. That also wouldn't be good in the Capitol- they get too attached to the victors. Many other possibilities run through my head, but none of them seem probable either.

Soon night falls. We sit in front of the television, waiting for the announcement to come on. Suddenly, the doorbell rings. I go to the door and peek out the peephole to see Gale standing there. I turn away from the door and run to the sitting room, shutting the door quietly behind me. I hear the doorbell ring again and the door opening. I faintly hear the voices of two people, before the front door slams shut. The door to the sitting room opens and Prim comes in.

"He's gone," she says. "And the announcement is starting."

I go back out and return to my position on the couch. As the anthem plays, I turn to Prim. "What did Gale want?"

"He wanted to know where you were. I told him you were in the village getting bandages and he ran off."

I sigh, and just then the announcement comes on. It features President Snow, standing on a platform with a wood box. Even though it isn't open, I know what it is filled with. Row upon row of note cards, all directed for a different year of the Quarter Quell. Whoever created the Quarter Quell slips was prepared for many years of them.

He pulls out a slip from the third slot in the box. He puts it up to his face and reads it aloud. "As a reminder to all that no one can defy the Capitol, the pool of tributes this year will be reaped from people all ages."

I am in shock for a moment before the real meaning sets in. All ages. That means- that means anyone could go in. My mother, Prim, Vick, Rory, Hazelle, helpless little Posy, or Gale. Gale could be going in the arena.

I feel like throwing up. I take a few deep breaths and tell myself it will all be fine. Without the tesserae, Gale will only have seven slips- not a major number. The next words President Snow says shock me.

"Like any year, your age determines how many slips you have. For each year you have lived, you will have a single slip."

That means that Gale- Gale will have eighteen slips. The only thing keeping me calm is the assurance that many others will have far more. The twenty year olds will have twenty, the thirty year olds will have thirty, the forty year olds will have forty, and the rare few in our district who are over fifty years old will have even more.

I head up to my room early and am able to forget about the day's events long enough for me to fall asleep.

I dream about the Hunger Games. I am running through the arena, being chased by tracker jackers, when suddenly I am sitting in a pristine white room, watching someone else running from them on a large television screen. I take a closer look and realize it is Gale holding Posy.

I wake with a scream dying in my throat.

A moment later Prim rushes in to find me crying silently on the bed. She comforts me for a moment before I can regain my thoughts. I order her back to bed and go with her, shutting the door quietly behind her. I have to promise I will get back to sleep, but I know there is no way sleep will find me again tonight.

I go down to the kitchen, grabbing a roll to eat. I avoid the oranges- those are in reserve for my mother and Prim. I also heat myself a cup of hot chocolate, only to find I made myself coffee by mistake. I add sugar and milk to it, take a sip and decide that it's not that bad after all.

I eat my food sitting by the fireplace, staring at the ashes. I finish my coffee and re-light the fireplace before proceeding to do all the chores my mother usually does in the mornings.

When my mother finally comes downstairs it is to the smell of stew and rice, which I have cooked specially this morning. She stares at me in confusion. "Why did you do all this?"

"I just got up in the middle of the night- couldn't sleep. I needed something to do."

"Are the nightmares back?" my mother asks with concern.

"How did you know about my nightmares?" I ask suspiciously.

"Well, it's not a big secret. Every other night you wake up screaming and Prim has to come in to calm you down."

"Sorry," I mutter.

"I'm not blaming you for it. I know the arena must have been terrible, but-"

"You have no idea what the arena was like. Can we just drop this, please?" I ask angrily. She sees my face and nods.

I had overcooked the rice while she was talking to me, so for breakfast we have squirrel stew on mush. No one comments on my cooking skills.

I head to the woods after breakfast, wanting some peace and quiet. I go to retrieve my bow and arrows from the log, but even after a full morning of hunting I only manage to get two squirrels. I even missed a shot at a wild turkey.

I decide to head to the lake for lunch, where maybe I can harvest some katniss tubers and I can go to the berry patch. When I finally make it to the lake, it is around one in the afternoon. There aren't many katniss tubers in the lake so I end up going to the berry patch for most of the day.

By the time I head back to the village I have three squirrels, a bag of berries, and a few katniss tubers. I have eaten the rest for lunch.

When I go to return my bow and arrows, I find Gale there doing the exact same thing. I think back frantically. It's Sunday. His day off. I see he has only a rabbit and a squirrel in his belt. Not enough for his family.

Suddenly, he sees me.

"Katniss!" He says. I wordlessly put my bow and arrow back into the log and take a squirrel out of my belt. I set it by his feet and walk soundlessly out of his sight line. When I'm finally out of view and am confident he isn't following me, I sprint off towards the fence.

I head to the Seam and go to three new houses I haven't visited yet. At the first I give away the berries and katniss tubers, and at the other two I give away the squirrels. Then I head home, still shaken from my encounter with Gale.

I forgot to go to the market while I was out so I have to go back when it is almost nightfall for food for dinner. The bakery is the only place open. I have avoided going in there ever since Peeta died, but we need food for supper. I should have just saved one of the squirrels and some berries.

Mentally cursing at myself, I enter the bakery. Peeta's mother is at the counter, waiting for someone to come in and buy all of the now-stale food.

"Katniss," Peeta's mother says the second she sees me. "I knew you'd win. But why couldn't you save my Peeta?" She's angry now and I wonder what brought this on. She never cared for Peeta. I feel awkward standing in the doorway, and I am about to leave without the food when the baker comes in. He calms his wife down and takes her to the back room before coming out himself and selling me the food I came to buy.

"I'm sorry," he's says just as the door swings shut. I hear thumping footsteps and a click and then the same footsteps, now retreating. I try to turn the handle and find the door locked. I find myself wondering what he could possibly be sorry for.

On my way home I notice the butcher's is open and stop there to get a string of wild onions, some fruit, and some chicken. By now my arms are bursting and I am almost out of money. I am now near to a Seam house, so I push the remainder of my money under their doorstep. As I walk away I hear a whoop of excitement coming from the house and know someone has discovered the money.

When I get home, Prim is asleep. My mother takes the food from me and puts them all away before cooking the meat and the onions into a soup. We quickly eat our soup and some stale bread from the bakers and just as I am about to go to bed, there's a knock at the door. I open it to find Haymitch sitting there. I study him carefully, surprised by the realization that for once, he's sober.

"May I come in? I have a message for you." I nod and he enters the house. My mother serves him a bowl of chicken onion soup, which he slurps down greedily. When he's done he eats three rolls before he sits back, satisfied.

"So?" I prompt him. "You said you had a message for me?"

"Oh, that. Well, it's nothing big."

"Well what it is?"

"They've moved up the Quarter Quell for this year. It's now in a week instead of in two months."

I stare at him in shock for a moment. "Wha-what?" I manage to say.

"Yes, it will be next Sunday. They're making the announcement tomorrow. They just sent up a announcement in the square to tune in tomorrow night for the announcement."

"Why the hell would they do that?"

He shrugs. "President Snow's orders. Probably something to do with the arena. It's not that big a deal- it's happened several times before."

"How do you know when it is, anyway?"

"They told me early. The mentors are supposed to get an extra week head start. I see they didn't tell you."

"No. What- what am I supposed to do Haymitch? How am I supposed to keep a kid alive in the arena?"

"I'll help you, sweetheart. You'll do fine- if you won you can help someone else win, can't you?"

I sigh and nod reluctantly.

"You better go to bed, Katniss.," my mother says suddenly, changing the subject.

I lay in bed for hours before I start to feel tired. When I finally do fall asleep, my mind is on the upcoming reaping, and the arena after that.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)  
EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day!**


	7. Reaping

**A/N: Readers of this= amazing. I love you!  
**

**Because I haven't done a disclaimer yet-**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games. It belongs to Suzanne Collins. **

**EDIT: I have gone back and revised this story, so this is the updated version, which is slightly different then the original.**

A week passes quickly. Everyone in the Seam is nervous- especially those who have made it to an old age. I meet a man on the street who looked to be about 55 with his wife. His wife was sobbing, and I got close enough to hear her say, " My sister died in the arena. I- I can't go in there too." I turn around and immediately head home. Anyone could be going in the arena.

The day of the Reaping finally comes. No one is prepared for the Reaping- it's two months early. But everyone manages to get there on time.

I see the mobs of people. They are all really sorted into two groups- girls and boys. Haymitch and I sit up on the stage, me on the girls side and Haymitch on the boys.

Effie bounces up to the big drawing balls when everyone is in place. They are enormous this year. I can only imagine how large District 11's must be.

"Ladies First!" Effie says, as usual. She digs her hand in the ball, and immediately it hits a slip of paper. I am so close I can read the name- Cathy Redburg. I feel weak with relief- only her hand doesn't stop there. She continues to dig around the ball for one at the bottom. When she finally grabs one, I cannot read it. But when she says the name, it's not one I recognize.

"Calliope Lauber!" Effie calls, and I almost faint with relief. Posy and Prim are safe.

The girl comes up to stand beside me, and I get a good look at her for the first time. She's a medium height and has red hair and gray eyes. She seems to be about fourteen years old. I can tell one of her parents is from the Seam and the other is from the Village. She obviously lives in the Village; she was clearly well fed. That's good as for her being in shape, but she won't be used to the lack of food in the arena. She'll need to learn the basics- everything from surviving into the wilderness to simply surviving the hunger.

Then Effie prances over to the boys ball. She struggles with the slips for a while on this one too, and the whole time I am praying she won't draw Gale or Rory or Vick.

When she finally draws the name, I hold my breath. " Damian DeAngelis." I sigh with relief. He goes and stands by Haymitch and I scope him out too. He's very tall but extremely skinny, and just from looking at him I can see he's Seam through and through. He has olive black hair and gray eyes. He looks around thirty or thirty-five years old, so he isn't in too bad of shape. I can see he will know a little bit about the wild- he isn't showing if he is upset, which leads me to believe he might be one of the brave ones that ventures into the forest in the fall to gather apples.

A thought hits me and immediately I feel sick to my stomach. I'm scoping them out. Like I would if I were a Capitol audience member trying to figure out who to sponsor. Or like I scope out my prey after it's shot.

I'm so consumed by these thoughts I barely pay attention as Effie says a short speech, barely pay attention as the Peacekeepers come and take the tributes away. Haymitch, who has remarkably remained sober for the occasion, leads me to the Justice Building. He takes me to a table out near the tributes rooms.

"We've got to decide who gets to see them. The people who do will give us a feel for what they are like. I usually let everyone in."

I nod, and Haymitch signals to the Peacekeepers to start letting people in. The sight of all the people horrifies me. All these people, already mourning their loved ones.

I see a familiar face in the crowd. Gale comes forward to Haymitch and asks permission to see the man. Haymitch nods and admits Gale into the room.

I frown and am about to ask Haymitch who the man who got reaped is when a young girl comes up to me.

"He-hello. My name is Katie Lauber. May I go in to see my sister?"

I smile sadly down at her. "Go ahead sweetie."

Just as she is about to leave, she pauses. "Don't let my Mommy come in with me." She turns and disappears within the room before I can do more then gape at her, my brow furrowed in confusion.

I stare at her retreating back, and her mother runs forward to me. "May I go in with my baby girl?"

"She has asked that you go in after her. Please wait out here madam."

"I want to go in. Let me go in," the mother says, a slight hint of desperation coming into her voice. "Why won't you let me go in?"

"I'm sorry, but I promised her I would not do that. Please wait here."

"No!" she screams, and breaks through the crowds, running to the door. Peacekeepers have to restrain her.

Suddenly, the little girl comes out again. "All done!" She says happily to me. Then she sees her mother tied up. "Mommy!"

"I- I tried to go in, she wouldn't let me," the mother sobs. The little girl turns to me. "Thank you for not letting her in," she whispers, her voice somehow managing to carry even throughout the packed room.

I turn to the Peacekeepers. "She can go now." They shake their heads. "I said, she can go now. She is allowed to enter the room. Let her enter the room." Still, they insist on keeping her tied up. Then Darius comes in the room.

"Let her go," he orders, and reluctantly the others let the woman free. She comes up to me. "May I go in the room?" she asks curtly, politely. I nod somewhat sheepishly, embarrassed that I've had to put her through that.

After her mother goes in the room, I send in a larger party of people who seem to be her friends from school. I eventually have to send in multiple different people at once because too many have gathered to meet her. It makes me wonder if everyone is like that or if, like me, most people don't have that many visitors.

I turn to Haymitch and voice my question. "Well, sweetheart, Seam people don't have many visitors but the people from the Village tend to have more. A soft lifestyle tends to give you more friends. Unless you're a victor of course." He laughs bitterly and grabs a bottle from under the table. He pops the top and takes a swig. I don't even want to know how long he's had that hidden.

Soon, the Peacekeepers come in and usher the people out of their rooms. Then Haymitch leads me out of the room. He takes me to the train station where we board the front car of the train. As we board, I can see the tributes getting on a car at the far end of the train.

"Now what?" I ask Haymitch after the train takes off.

"Now, sweetheart, we wait."

Halfway to District 9, Haymitch procures a bottle of some alcoholic substance. By the time we make it to Eight, he's ingested so much I bet he barely notices it's time for dinner. I sigh and stand up. "Dinner," I say flatly. I don't know quite what's bothering me, but I push it off. Haymitch shakily comes to his feet and I grab his arm, towing him behind me as I head to the dining car.

When we arrive there, the tributes are already waiting. Effie is sitting at the head of the table. She frowns disapprovingly when Haymitch, too drunk to do _anything _properly, requires my assistance to sit down in the chair. I sit down directly opposite Effie at the table, and the Avoxes take that as their cue to begin bringing the meal.

The whole of supper, it is silent aside from Effie's constant yammering. The tributes in front of me don't speak. I take a better look at them and notice that Calliope seems to be frightened of something. I follow her gaze and find she was staring at Haymitch, who by now has collapsed, half unconscious in his chair. I feel a grin spreading on my face, even as I try to stop it.

The girl turns her head to me. I can tell by now she must have seen my amused smile. I turn back to her, and she shrinks into her chair.

"She's not going to hurt you." I turn my attention to the other tribute. He looks oddly familiar, but I can't seem to place his face.

He's speaking to me now. "My nephews and niece have told me a lot about you."

I think back to his visitors. The only on I can remember is Gale- although surely the rest of his family visited too. Because this man must be...

"Are you Gale's uncle?" I ask, and then wish I kept my mouth shut.

He smiles, despite the situation ahead of him. "He's told me a lot about you, Gale."

I feel the blush creeping up my neck and look down. He must have told him I poisoned Posy.

"And he told me you didn't do it."

I look up, and can see the sympathy in his eyes. I sigh and stand up.

"We can talk more in the Capitol about... things. I think you should-"

"Wait!" The girl- Calliope Lauber- speaks up. "What's the best strategy for making it away for the Cornucopia?" I almost smile. That's what I asked Haymitch last year when Peeta- I shake my head as though it will clear away the thoughts. I turn away. "I suggest you ask Haymitch that," I say, unable to keep the bitter under-tone out of my voice. I am halfway out the door when I hear the girl speak again.

"But he's drunk!" she protests.

"He won't be forever," I assure her without turning my head. When she runs forward, a screech of a chair going back and a slight pattering of feet alert me. I turn to face her right before she reaches me.

"We need a good mentor. That is something Haymitch is _not_. If you survived the arena, why can't you help us?" the 14 year old challenges, tilting her head. I simply turn and walk away.

I can tell she is about to follow me, but I hear a low voice in the room. "Let her go." Damian is saving me. I must remember to thank him.

The moment I make it to my quarters, I collapse on the bed. Ten minutes later, I'm asleep.

The next morning when I head to breakfast, I find only Damian present. Even Effie has not made it to breakfast today.

Damian nods at me and watches while I grab a plate of bacon and eggs. A Capitol attendant pours me a glass of orange juice and pushes a mug of hot chocolate in my direction. I drain the cup before turning to my meal.

I glance at Damian and see he looks green. I smile faintly, remembering the feeling. Damian notices me watching. " he food's too rich," he says, sitting back.

I smile again. "I know what you're talking about."

After a few moments of silence, he leans forward. "I want you to promise me something Katniss. Keep Calliope alive." And then he slides his chair back and leaves the room.

Attendants surge towards his empty seat, quickly cleaning up the mess that he left behind. I sit, dumbfounded. Why does he want to keep Calliope alive?

I honestly consider it. Calliope is in shape even if she needs to learn more about the wild, but Damian can teach her that before he-

I can't kill Gale's uncle.

I can't kill anyone, but for some reason the killing of _Gale's_ uncle would be worse then killing anybody else's. But, like Peeta, even if it was against my wishes, he'll probably kill himself in the end if he manages to get the girl that far the Games. So what can I do?

I ultimately decide to advise him against it, but when I finally manage to drift off to sleep, my head is filled with thoughts of the poor girl who will die if Gale's relative stays alive.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)  
EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day!**


	8. Damian

**A/N: You are all amazing. I love you if you're reading this! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games. It belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**EDIT: I have gone back and revised this story, so this is the updated version, which is slightly different then the original.**

I walk through the deserted halls of the Training Center. We arrived at the Capitol yesterday, and the stylists have occupied every moment since we arrived. I haven't even had a chance to say hello to Cinna or Portia yet, seeing as they failed to arrive at dinner last night and they're far too preoccupied with Calliope and Damian during the day to have time to speak with me. The chariot rides went smoothly, and Cinna and Portia dressed them in outfits similar to the ones Peeta and I wore last year. However, the audience seemed to expect it, and they weren't as surprised nor impressed as they were during our Games.

I reach the room that used to be mine. I consider opening it to have a look around before I remember that Calliope is staying there now, and doing so could be seen as an invasion of her privacy. I head to the lavish rooms afforded to the victors, and can't help but compare them to the old room I shared with Prim before the Games. I wiggle my toes in the hard, shiny shoes Effie insists I must wear from now on. I miss my hunting boots. Not for the first time, I wish I were back home.

In my room, I strip down before slipping on a soft shirt and a silky pair of pants. I lay down in my bed and long for the comforting rock of the train. Eventually, I give up on sleep and head down to the kitchens in the hope a lone attendant will be there.

When I walk in, considering whether to order hot chocolate or plain milk, I am surprised. Calliope sits on one of the uncomfortable dining chairs, her back to me. I tilt my head and see the edge of her hands wrapped around a white mug.

So she couldn't sleep either.

I walk up next to her and sit beside her, careful to make no noise. I glance at her then, turning my head back to face the front, and say, "It's hard to sleep here."

She jerks around, hair flying. A drop of milk flies out of the mug and splashes onto her face. She slowly lifts her sleeve to wipe it off.

"Let me show you somewhere," I say, standing up. For some odd reason, I want to show this girl everything. I want to tell her things I haven't told anyone, even Prim. Perhaps it's the promise given to me by the Capitol that, soon, her voice will be silenced forever. Or perhaps it's just because, like with Rue, I feel like I can trust her.

It's only when we've made it to the roof do I realize she never set down her cup. Gently, I take it from her and set it down on the ground.

She walks forward and stares out over the railing. I'm lost in thought when she says, "Sometimes I feel like it would be better to just jump."

I silently glid forward until I am only feet from her. "You can't."

"Why?" she asks, her voice hitching. "I'm going to die anyway. I don't want to die in grisly entertainment of Capitol citizens. I want to die as me."

Her words remind me of Peeta, and what he said on this roof. I slowly back away. I shouldn't have shown her this place. Now this place is just as spoiled as all the others. Using the hunter's tread I have developed over the years, I inch out the door. At the last second, the door bangs shut. I only see her frightened face, facing the glass door, for a millisecond before I turn and sprint back to my quarters.

I collapse on my bed, not crying, just staring up through the window in the ceiling. Bright stars twinkle on the midnight blue sky and I long to be free, up there in the sky. I calm myself with the thought that's where Peeta is now, safe and happy. Eventually, I drag myself out of bed long enough to hop in the shower and scrub myself down. By the time I get out it must be almost seven, so I change into plain brown pants and a white tunic. When I make it to breakfast, the Capitol attendants are still laying out the food. I glance out of the window and for the first time realize it cant be past 5:30.

"I'm sorry," I say to them. "Should I wait?" They shake their heads quickly and speedily lay out the rest of the food.

Halfway through my second plate, someone finally arrives. Damian, dark circles under his eyes, stumbles in and plops down at the table. Seeing he has no interest in serving himself, an attendant runs forward with a plate of assorted food which he lays in front of Damian.

He grabs a fork and stabs it viciously into a piece of pineapple. Then he drops his fork and rests his head on his hands.

"Damian?" I ask faintly. "Are you okay?"

He sighs. "Yes, Katniss. But you and I both know that in the arena I won't last long. Calliope can't be the only strong one going in the arena."

"Well," I say. " I guess we'll find out tonight."

Halfway through the day, there's an announcement. Training has been postponed to the next day. Soon it's night and time to watch the already-delayed recap of the reapings.

The two broadcasters come on TV. They begin with District 1 as usual and work their way up to District 12. A few catch my eye. Almost all of the Careers are volunteers. There is an old woman from District 7. A twenty-five year old from District 10. But by far the worst is a little five year old boy from District 5. And when they ask for volunteers, there are none.

I hear the clucking of the commentators. They speculate about his parents- if he's an orphan, an only child. It's heartbreaking to see the little boy walking up to the stage, oblivious to the fate that awaits him.

Calliope leaves after District 5, along with Effie, leaving only me, Damian, and Haymitch left to watch them.

By the time the show is over, I feel sick. The thought of not only the little boy but of the old woman from District 7 and the young girl from District 11 are the source of my nausea. None of them stand a chance. The Capitol will kill them all.

I go straight back to my room and flop onto the bed, still fully clothed. I know Damian will not stand a chance in the arena. Not anymore. If Calliope wasn't enough to stop him before, then surely the twenty-five year old man from District 10 will kill him. But Calliope might win. But it is it worth sentencing a man to death?

I cover my face with my hands. What can I do? I take a deep breath and sigh. What would Gale want me to do? The thought makes me more confused and I shove it out of my head. I try to think of anybody who had been in such a situation before, but my mind is blank. Eventually I fall asleep, my mind reeling.

I dream of the arena again. Only this time, I am watching from the sidelines. I see the man from District 10 rushing at Damian. The man stabs Damian in the stomach, and he falls over. The little boy crawls out of the bushes.

"Damian?" he asks innocently, and the man charges. He unsheathes his sword, and uses it to kill the boy.

I wake up screaming.

I hear a thumping from down the hall and a minute later, a figure walks into my room. I peer forward to see Damian standing in the doorway.

"Did someone scream?" he asks.

I am frozen with surprise. Eventually, I find myself able to move my mouth enough to speak.

"Yes."

"What's wrong?" he asks kindly.

"Nightmare," I say. Suddenly, I feel embarrassed. Damian is the tribute, I'm the mentor. I should be comforting him.

"I'm- I'm sorry," I mutter.

He stares at me for a moment, and I can tell he sees I want to be alone. He nods, and goes to leave.

"And Damian?" I say when he's in the doorway. He turns to face me. "Thanks." He nods again and leaves.

The next morning when I head to the breakfast table, I am surprised to see Haymitch sitting there with a plate of food and a glass of orange juice, with no alcohol in plain sight.

I sit beside him in confusion. Suddenly, I see him pull a bottle out from under the table. He is about to pour some into a glass when I grab it from him.

"Wha' the hell?" he says angrily. "Give it back!" His voice is slightly slurred, leading me to believe this isn't the first drink he has had this morning.

"No," I say. "No. You keep drinking, they're going to die. Don't you want to keep them alive?"

Haymitch lunges forward and snatches the bottle from me. He stops to take a swig before speaking. "They're gonna die anyway. Have you ever noticed no District has ever won two years in a row? If the other tributes don't kill them, the Capitol does."

"That doesn't mean it's okay not to try. Is that what you do every year? Just say, oh, they're not going to win, and give up?" I am angry now, not just that he was drinking, but that he didn't even bother to try to keep these people alive.

Haymitch stands up angrily. "You have no idea." And he storms out, leaving the bottle on the table.

I sink back into my chair, ignoring the food the attendant placed in front of Damian arrives he sits next to me.

"Katniss," he says halfway through his meal. He pushes forward his plate and it makes a screeching noise on the table.

"What?" I say looking away.

"You know what," he replies. He leans forward. "You and I both know I won't last long in the arena anyway. But Calliope might make it. "

I shake my head in denial. "I- I can't just kill you. You're Gale's uncle!"

Damian sighs. "You won't be killing me. The Capitol will be. Not you."

I sigh, and I am about to argue when Calliope comes in. Immediately I shut my mouth. She doesn't notice. Damian sees my face and shuts up too. But when Calliope turns the other way to fill up a plate with food, he mouthes to me 'Later'.

I watch them eat, waiting for Effie. Finally she comes in, her eyes red and puffy. We can all tell she's been crying, but none of us comment on it.

"So," she says quietly, lacking her usual exuberance. If Effie's in such a state I can only image how torn up the Capitol audience must be. Last year when I got out of the arena Octavia started sobbing because Peeta died. When this little boy is killed, who knows what will happen? The sound of Effie's voice jerks me out of my trance. "Tomorrow you will begin your training. You will be in the bottom floor of the Training Center, where you will have a few days to train before being sent to the arena. Katniss, Haymitch will show you what you'll be doing for the duration of the Games." I nod, and Calliope mimics my movement. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Damian staring at her.

The day seems to pass slowly, although I know in the tributes' eyes it must seem to pass in a moment. Halfway through the day I see Cinna and stop to say hello. We have time to talk for several minutes before he has to go.

Finally, the day comes to an end. But right before I am about to go to sleep, I am interrupted by Damian.

He knocks on my door before sticking his head in.

"Katniss," he says. "We need to talk."

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day!**


	9. Control

**A/N: First off, I want to apologize for the time it took to post this chapter. I had a few exams with school, but I know I promised an update a day- that just wasn't possible for me this week. Sorry! Also, I want to apologize for the shortness of this chapter- it just seemed like a good place to cut it off. Again, thanks to the readers of this and please review with comments!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games. It belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**EDIT: I have gone back and revised this story, so this is the updated version, which is slightly different then the original.**

I sigh. "Come on in Damian," I say. He walks through the door and looks around.

"Is this what life's like as a victor?"

I blush. "This is a bit more lavish then I'm used to." He continues to stare around the room. I can't blame him. The room has white wallpaper with golden decorations all over and thick, fluffy carpet. My bed is huge; five of the bed I shared with Prim would fit on here. The bathroom is just as richly decorated.

"Umm." His presence makes me nervous, and suddenly I forget why he's here. "You wanted to talk to me?"

He rips his eyes off the painting of a pure white owl framed on the wall and turns his attention back to me. "Yes." Even though I know what to expect, his next words still shock me. "You need to kill me."

The way he phrases it horrifies me, and my eyes widen. "No. No, I can't _kill_ you."

He sighs. "I'm not entirely in love with the idea either. But it's the only way Calliope can stay alive."

"I'm not just going to give up on you from the beginning. Calliope needs to be taught. She has no idea how to survive in the wilderness, and she has no idea how to be hungry. She needs your help."

Damian puts his head in his hands. "So you're saying if I keep her alive until the end you'll- you'll make sure she gets out alive... instead of me?"

Hating myself, I nod. A peculiar expression comes across his face that I can't quite place. The fact that it's a mixture of different emotions makes it even harder to place, but then I do. Relief, triumph, and fear. The last one looks so out of place on a grown man's face. I look away.

"Thank you," he finally says, his voice only slightly quavering. He turns to leave, but a second before he is out of my sight he turns. "And Katniss," he says, "tell Gale it was my idea." Then he turns and walks out the door.

I lay on my bed, rest my head on my pillow, and close my eyes for what I tell myself will only be a minute. A moment later, I am asleep.

The next thing I know I am laying on my bed, morning sunlight streaming through the skylight. I am confused for a moment by what awoke me before I hear the continued rapping of Effie's fingernails on my door. I close my eyes. For a moment, my mind is blissfully blank before the previous night's conversation floods back into my memory. Inadvertently, I sigh.

I slowly get up and dress in simple black pants and a black shirt. I see my mockingjay pin sitting on the table. Even though it seems silly, I place it through the two holes in the top of my shirt.

When I make it to the breakfast table, Effie immediately points out my accessory to everyone at the table by practically yelling, "Katniss, you put in your pin!"

I sit down at my seat, ignoring Haymitch's roaring laughter and Calliope's tiny giggles. Damian is the only one who maintains a straight face.

"So," Effie says after the laughter died down. " In a few minutes I'll take you guys down to the Training Center," she says, directing her words to the tributes. She turns to face me. "When I leave with them, Haymitch will escort you down to the Control Center." I nod, and turn my attention back to the food. It's a banquet today, and I try to think back to the day before I went into training, trying to recall if it was this good. But all I can remember is the pinched feeling of nervousness.

Effie leaves early with Calliope and Damian today, because last year we were late to training. I finish my food soon after she leaves, and wait impatiently for Haymitch to finish his meager breakfast of buttered toast and a glass of grape juice. When he's finished about half the glass, he begins to look drunk. I lean forward to take a whiff of his drink and realize it's wine. Carefully, while's he's occupied with taking tiny bites of his toast, I take the glass from his spot. He fails to notice. Then I turn around and in one swift movement dump the contents of it onto a plant in the corner. I know the alcohol will probably kill the plant, but a plant's life is worth two human's.

By the time Haymitch wants more of his wine, I have refilled the glass with the dark purple grape juice from the pitcher in the middle of the table. He takes a gulp and frowns. "This taste's weird," he comments.

I fake a sigh and lean back. "Hurry up Haymitch," I say, tapping my fingers on the table.

He tips his head back and drains the rest of the glass in one gulp. He takes one last bite of his toast, leaving about three quarters of it still on the plate, and gets up unsteadily from his chair. Without telling me where he's going, he turns and walks out through the kitchen door.

I follow him, and halfway through the door, he stops and abruptly turns around, running into me and almost knocking me over. "Wha' are you doing?" he asks, a touch of anger in his voice. He pushes me aside and walks straight out the door. I follow him, taking only a moment to glance at the shocked faces of the kitchen staff. He heads straight out the door and down the hallway to the elevator. He pushes the button and immediately it dings and opens. He walks in and, after checking his pockets for a few moments, finally withdraws a key pass. He swipes it through a slot near the door that I never noticed before, but the light turns red. "Incorrect," an electronic voice bleeps. He tries again, but again the light is red. Finally, I step forward and grab the card from him. I flip it over and shove it into the slot again. The light miraculously turns green. The doors slide shut, and even without Haymitch or I pressing a button, the elevator shoots down. A minute later it screeches to a halt. When the doors open, it's to a sight I didn't expect.

The walls are dark gray and every few feet a fluorescent rectangle lights up the room in a electronic glow. He stumbles down the hallway, leading me to a dead end. Just when I'm thinking he's lost, he turns and goes down a narrow hallway. It leads to another elevator, and the moment we step in, without swiping a card or pressing a button, the elevator jerks up. It takes a wacky path, not only moving up and down but side to side. Finally, after one last jerk to the left, it comes to a stop. When we come out, it's more to the sight I would have expected. The hallway is brightly lit, and every few feet it branches out into a room. Each one is labeled with a large black number above the door, ranging from one to twelve. At the end of the hallway there's a larger doorway labeled with **Control Center**. Haymitch staggers on to one of the last doors, the one labeled with the big black **12. **I am again surprised by what I see. There are two stiff wooden chairs facing a TV screen in the corner. There is a small screen in the opposite corner and when I look behind it I see a small bathroom area and a button on the wall labeled **Capitol Attendant**. I turn around to find Haymitch grinning at me.

"You like it sweetheart?" he smirks. There's an uneven thumping from outside of the door and an old woman walks in. She's carrying a walker.

"Herrow," she says shakily. I'm not sure if I heard her right- her speech is garbled to the point I can barely understand her. "I'b Bags." Now I'm sure I can't understand her properly. I glance over at Haymitch, who's now sitting on the floor, a bottle of liquor in his hand, faintly singing a drinking song.

As though he can feel my gaze, Haymitch glances up and I look pointedly at the woman. "This is Mags," Haymitch introduces us. "District 4's first female tribute."

I glance at this woman and it's hard for me to see the victor in her. Then she smiles, and I can tell she won the Capitol over by her charm. Even though she lacks teeth, she has a pretty smile, and her eyes are like the ocean. When I look into them I feel like I'm lost in the many layers of her mind.

There's another knock on the door and I turn again to see another famous icon walking through the door. Finnick Odair, also from District Four. He won a while ago when he was 14. For a couple of years, the ladies had to leave him alone because he was too young. But as soon as he turned 16, all the women have been chasing him. Instead of being annoyed like I would have, he's learned to play it to his advantage. He bribes them and soon he became richer then any other victor was. He stays with the, accepts their gifts and then a few weeks later disappears. I am expecting him to be snobby, so I am surprised when he starts to talk to me about District Twelve. He seems to know a lot about it, and when I ask him why he says he's been on a lot of Victory Tours there. All the other mentors stay concealed in their rooms, not so much as peeking into the room to wave and say hello to Haymitch- though that doesn't really surprise me-, and I'm starting to think that District Four are the only friendly ones.

I am soon proved wrong. Within ten minutes half of the victors have come into our small room. Eventually, Finnick invites me to their room.

I knew that the Districts that win frequently would be treated better then us, but when I step into the room I am still more then slightly surprised. It's got a big screen television where we can watch the action of the show. Several cushioned armchairs sit in front of it. At the back of the room there's a large, fully-functional kitchen complete with a stove and fridge. There are several buttons stationed around the room labeled with Capitol Attendant. At the back there is a large door behind which I assume is their bathroom. Just by looking at the rest of the room I can tell it's ten times better then ours.

"So," Finnick says. "This is the control center for us District Fourers, if you will." He notices me staring around at everything. "I know it's a bit more luxurious then yours, but aside from One, Two, and Four, they're all the same. You can hang out here, if you like. All we really do is watch the Games. If you want to send your tributes something you have to go to the Control Center."

I nod at him. "Thanks, but I think I'll stay in Room Twelve with Haymitch."

For some reason, Finnick laughs. I frown at him, and, seeing the look on my face, he explains. " Haymitch never stays in Room Twelve. He's always with Chaff in Room Eleven."

"Oh," I say, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"But you can stay there if you want. After all, you would be a lot closer to the Control Center."

I nod and fake a smile before turning to Mags. "I'll see you soon," I say. She comes up to me and squeezes me into a almost forgotten embrace. I am shocked when I finds my hands coming up to hug her back.

Finally she lets go and I shake hands with Finnick before turning and going back to the lone, desolate room belonging to District Twelve.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day!**


	10. Spirit

**A/N: I am so so sorry for the time it took to post this chapter. I have a bunch of exams at school, and just a general high work load right now. However, when I went on fanfic today- or yesterday- and saw I had 74 favorites and almost ten thousand hits... well, I needed to say thanks. So I stayed up until midnight to write this. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games. It belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**EDIT: I have gone back and revised this story, so this is the updated version, which is slightly different then the original.**

After a few hours of simply sitting in District Twelve's room and watching what, to the Capitol, is considered entertaining television- a show about jabberjays- Effie comes and saves me. She takes me back up to the twelfth floor of the Training Center.

"When can I get an elevator key?" I ask when I step outside of the elevator.

"Don't you already have one?" she asks, seeming alarmed. It seems as though everything alarms her these days. "Oh my gosh- I forgot to give it to you! Here you go Katniss. And don't ever loose it," she finishes sternly.

I nod, ignoring the way the world is spinning slightly. It's strange- the world seems to shimmer, somehow, if that were possible. Everything I'm not focusing on is blurred and indistinct, but when I move my gaze to that, whatever I had been looking at before become fuzzy.

Effie keeps talking, and interrupts my thoughts. "Okay, so the tributes-" I wince when she refers to them like that, although technically that's what they are- "will be back up in a couple hours. Until then, you and Haymitch are given time to talk strategy. Haymitch should be up in a minute. He usually spends the time in his room alone, but since you're here you'll probably want to talk to you in the dining room. You can just want to wait here. I'm sure he'll be up soon."

I nod, not really listening. I'm staring at the person at the corner. Light hair, blue eyes, and a tall, muscular build combined make him an identical copy of the boy who died with me in the arena.

I back up slowly towards the door, like a fleeing animal helplessly entangled in a hunter's snare.

"Katniss?" Effie asks with concern. "Katniss?" When I don't respond she waves her hand in front of my face, as though I can't hear her. Again I ignore her. My eyes are only on the boy in the corner.

He turns to me and for the first time I can see him entirely. My eyes widen, and I take another step back, trodding on Effie's foot. She shrieks and says, "Katniss get off my foot!" but I ignore her. I recover enough to wave to my arms in front of his face, but he doesn't say anything, making me think he's an Avox. Except- he's wearing the wretched outfit we had to wear into the arena. And instead of holding a tray filled with food he has a handful of nightlock.

"Who are you waving to?" Effie snaps. I finally jerk my head away from him and look at Effie.

"Can't you see him?"

"See what?"

I turn back to the boy in the corner, only to find he's disappeared. "N-nothing," I eventually manage to stutter.

The room has returned to normal. The furniture no longer glimmers and shakes, and everything is back to normal.

"I-I've got to go now," Effie says, a strange look on her face. "I daresay Haymitch will be up in a little bit. Just- just sit tight until then okay?"

I nod slightly and she smiles. "Right. And I think I'll just-" She walks over to a door, which swings open as she gets closer. An Avox stands behind it. Effie leans forward whispers something in his ear, and the Avox nods. Effie turns, smiles at me anxiously, and then turns and hurries from the room.

I expect the Avox to leave but he doesn't. He lingers in the dining hall, first pretending to wipe down the table, then moving on to dusting the table and mopping the floors. I sigh. I really don't need a chaperone. It's just me and and my delusional mind.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity of waiting, Haymitch shows up, but it is not for the strategy meeting I had anticipated. By the time he arrives, he's dead drunk. Ten minutes into our supposed meeting, he's out cold. Even more annoying is the constant hovering of the Capitol attendant. I finally get fed up and go over to him.

"Excuse me?" I said. I don't wait for an answer before plowing forward. " I know that she-" I jerked my head back towards the doorway to indicate Effie- "told you not to leave me alone, but I'm fine. Really."

He seems unwilling to leave me. He shakes his head and sticks out his arms and walks like a zombie.

"Wha- oh she said- no I didn't actually see a ghost. I was- I was playing a prank." It was the first excuse I could think of. It takes a moment for the comprehension to cross his face.

_Prank? _He mouthes. I nod, pleased. He cocks his head and plasters a confused expression on his face.

"I thought her expression would be funny," I fib. "And it was."

There's gargling noise that I can't place. Then I notice his mouth, open to display his maimed tongue, and the expression on his face. Laughter. This is what an Avox sounds like when they laugh?

After a few more moments of laughter his giggles subside, eventually fading to a smile. He points to himself and then to the doorway. I smile, nodding. "Thank you," I add as he leaves.

For what feels like the first time in forever, I am alone.

I sigh and sit back into a chair, my head in my hands. What is going on with me?

After what feels like a minute, though what I am sure is more like an hour, Effie walks in again. "Katniss?" she asks with concern. "Are you okay?" Out of the gaps between my fingers, I watch as she turns her head back and forth, surveying the room. "What happened to the Avox?"

"I told him to leave," I spit out. "I don't feel too well," I say. Only seconds later I vomit on the carpet.

As a result of this, Effie keeps me in bed for two full days, and I miss the end of training. Instead of mentoring the tributes, I spend the time stuck in bed, nibbling expensive crackers and sipping on orange juice, which she insists will make me feel better. She finally sets me free the night they broadcast the scores.

I sit on the couch with Damian and Haymitch, watching Calliope on the armchair. Effie sits on a hard chair behind us, sipping a glass of wine. Haymitch glares at her, or more specifically at the alcohol in her hand, twisting his fingers around.

Finally, Caesar comes on the television. As usual, he starts with District One. They give out both of the tributes scores from Two, and so on and so forth.

I watch the television as Twelve comes up. They flash Calliopes first- an 8. Yet when they flash Damian's I am shocked. He has achieved a 10. Aside from my score, that's the highest I can remember seeing. I glance at his skinny build and wonder what made the Gamemakers give him such a high score. I shaken from my reverie by the angry voice of Calliope. "How did _he_ get a higher score then me?" she storms.

Immediately, my eyes narrow. "Maybe because he knows something you don't," I say cooly.

She glares at at me and for the first time I realize that that really is a spoiled little girl. She turns, her hair spinning, and flounces out of the room.

I turn to the others and see even Haymitch's looks slightly shocked. Then he snorts and takes a swig from a bottle of liquor. "You know, I never really liked her," he says, still laughing.

Effie's mouth is hanging wide open, her eyes moving swiftly between each of us, gauging our reactions in as they come. She stares at me, and I fight to keep my face neutral as I turn to see Damian's reaction.

Surprisingly Damian doesn't seem appalled by the scene, or even slightly upset. He sees me looking at him, and smiles faintly. "She is from the Village," he says, but doesn't continue, as though that explains everything.

"That doesn't give her any excuse!" I say, ranting now. "You're about to go into that arena and die for her, and you think it's okay for her to be furious at you for beating her in training?"

The smile fades from his face. "Well, it's not like she knows I'm going to die."

Effie glances back between me and Damian, her head whipping left and right so fast I am surprised it didn't hurt her neck. " I'm going to talk to Calliope," she says quickly.

"No!" I almost shout it. For some reason, even though she's bratty and rude, she's still innocent. Trying not to think about the fact that Damian is innocent too, I stand up. "No," I repeat. "I'll go talk to her."

Against my better judgment, I stand up and head over to the quarters that were previously mine. I knock slightly, and without waiting for an answer, slip in the room.

Calliope is sitting on her bed, staring furiously out the window. Silently, I walk up to her and sit on the bed. She feels the slight jolt of the mattress as I plop onto it, and she snaps her head around to face me. Her momentarily anxious expression turns back into the one of anger that had occupied her face only moments before.

"What are you doing here?" she asks flatly. It sounds more like a statement then a question.

"Why are you mad at Damian?"

"He got a higher score then me!" she explodes, turning to face me. I am surprised to see her eyes are red and there are tear tracks on her face. But I still don't feel sympathetic.

"That's all for the better isn't it! After all, he's the only one who will actually be able to protect you in the arena."

"I don't need protecting!" she spits out, but a hysterical note has entered her voice.

"Oh yes you do!" I'm not finished with her yet. "I knew a lot more about surviving when I went into the arena, and even I knew that I needed help."

"I don't!" Her tone is rebellious now.

"Fine. Then tell me, did you pass the edible plants test in the Training Center?"

She mumbles something incomprehensible.

"I'm sorry?" I say, cupping my hand around my ear dramatically.

"I didn't do it," she says more loudly.

"Then what did you do?"

"I spent the time training with spears and swords," she says loudly, as though wanting to prove she knows how to speak in a normal voice.

I raise my eyebrows at her. "That's about the worst thing you could be doing."

"What do you think you're talking about?" she snaps.

"You didn't bother to learn what you can eat in the arena, how to use any weapon that you could actually get your hands on, or even how to tie a proper knot?" I am appalled.

"Well I'm sorry," she yells. " But no one seemed to give me any guidance!"

"I didn't get any either!" I yell back. "But I managed! You could have at least followed Damian!"

She has tears in her eyes now. "You know why I didn't make friends with Damian? Because when my little sister came in she told me not to kill anyone. How can I make sure I will get to the end by getting an ally like Damian when I'll just have to kill him?" The tears are rolling down her cheeks. "I might as well kill myself already."

Instead of seeing the bratty little girl sitting there moments before, all I can see now is a frightened girl who doesn't know what to do.

I sit down next to her, rubbing her back the way my mother always did to comfort me. She closes her eyes. It takes all the self control I have not to tell her about Damian's plan then and there. Instead we just sit there, me comforting her, even when the tears start rolling down my own cheeks. By the time she's finished crying, she's realized I have started crying as well, and it's her turn to comfort me. Sitting there so silently with just the two of us I realize how similar we are. We both have a strange habit of following the instructions of our younger sisters. We're both half-Seam half-Village. Besides the obvious similarities, I can see something in this girl I have myself. It's hard to put a name to it. Our spunk. Our fight.

Eventually, we both doze off, lying on her bed.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day!**


	11. Family

**A/N: I am sorry this took so long to post, but I should be able to post very quickly throughout the week- it's Spring Break! So, anyway, this chapter took me forever to write partially because the Damian section was just- hard for me. Anyway, please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games. It belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**EDIT: I have gone back and revised this story, so this is the updated version, which is slightly different then the original.**

When I wake up in the morning, it takes me a moment to register where I am. I glance around for a few moments before realizing I must have fallen asleep in Calliope's room last night. Looking around, I find her room vacant aside from myself. I slide out of bed and head down the hall to my quarters. I glance at the clock as I walk in and realize it's not even five in the morning yet. I get in the shower where a thick layer of marbled pink and yellow bubbles assault me. I need to use a combination of a sponge and lavender scented water to scrape them off.

I slip into a pair of dark blue pants and a white t-shirt, sticking my pin into the two holes my shirt. I brush my teeth, effectively killing another three minutes, but it's still only 5:30. I sigh, and move over to the menu in the corner, which is now filled with breakfast foods. I order a thick potato pancake with ketchup and something they call dragon fruit. It comes with a frothy apple juice that's similar to the apple cider my mother makes in the fall.

I eat my meal slowly, savoring every bite. But still, eating breakfast only wastes thirty more minutes. Sighing, I head down to the dining room, knowing that it will still be another hour before anyone shows up to serve breakfast. Surprisingly, when I walk in, I find Damian sitting at the table. He has nothing in his hands but a small velvety container, about the size of a ring box. Curious, I move closer. I peer inside the box and see a light silver necklace. Hanging from the chain is two small circles that cross over each other. I squint and I can see the word _Love_ etched on them. It looks almost pure silver, and for a person from the Seam, it would be virtually impossible to buy. It must have taken Damian all his savings to buy the necklace.

Damian watches me as I stare at it. "Who's it for?" I finally ask.

"My fiance," he says.

I turn to him in surprise. I hadn't known he was going to be married. I swallow hard and manage to say, " What is it for?"

He holds it up to my face so I can see it better. Suddenly, I realize that it's not a pendant hanging from the chain, it's a set of two rings. Two _wedding _rings.

"Oh, Damian," I whisper. "Who- who is she?"

He sighs, looking at his hands. I continue to stare at him. Finally, he says, "Her name is Anthea."

I swallow hard in a vain attempt to clear the lump I can feel forming in my throat. I try to speak, but I find myself unable to. Finally I manage to talk. How long- how long have you- you known-" I can't finish, but he understands what I was trying to say.

"Since I was a child," he says. "We've been engaged for a month."

"I'm sorry," I say.

"She was pregnant," he says quickly, as though if he doesn't say it right now he never will.

I gape at him, eyes wide. "What?" I splutter, but that's all I manage to say before Effie walks in.

I am about to ignore her and keep questioning him when I see his wide, anxious eyes. _No, No,_ he mouths frantically. He desperate, so I keep my mouth shut.

Slowly, everyone else trickles in. As though he is avoiding me, Damian doesn't leave. But right as the meal ends, Effie says, "Tomorrow is a mentoring day. The Capitol has added extra time for the mentors and tributes to plan together. So we'll start the day with Katniss talking to Damian and Calliope with Haymitch, and then swap. After lunch you'll all work together."

Effie smiles and exits the room. I look at the expression on Damian's face and almost feel sorry for him. But I need to find out what's going on.

A Capitol attendant ushers us into two separate rooms. I sit in one of the two armchairs, but Damian stands by the window staring outside. I wait for him to talk, and finally he does.

"Two months ago, we found out," he says. "We got engaged soon after. But then- a few weeks before my reaping- she lost the baby."

My eyes widen and I put my hand over my mouth. It isn't uncommon, but it is still a tragedy.

"We didn't tell anyone," he continues, "But it was still devastating."

It takes me a moment to speak. "Is that- is that why you are so determined to keep Calliope alive?"

He nods. "If I couldn't keep my own child alive, at least I can help her."

He turns and as he exits the room I can see the lone tear traveled on an crooked path down his cheek.

I sit in the completely dark interior of the small parlor the Capitol provided and think about what Damian had said. Two hours must have passed much quicker then I thought because in what seemed like two minutes there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I say in a hoarse voice.

Calliope opens the door, and the sudden shock of light momentarily blinds me. I blink, and use the light as an excuse to rub the few remaining tears from my eyes. I can't figure out why the loss of Damian's baby would hurt me so much, but finally push the issue to the back of my mind, reminding myself to think about Calliope now.

Calliope shuts the door quietly and flicks on the yellow floor lamp standing on the ground next to me. Sitting in the armchair across from me, she studies my face intently. "You've been crying," she says finally.

"I haven't," I lie, but she just shakes her head.

"So," she says after a minute of silence. "What's my plan in the arena?"

"Haven't you already talked to Haymitch about this?" I ask, desperate for a way out.

"He passed out after ten minutes of drinking. He woke up at the end and seemed sober but by the time he was fully awake it was time to switch and he was already talking to Damian."

I think back to my strategy and realize it played on my strength- flight. I think about Calliope and realize I've been so caught up with Damian and his plan I don't really know anything about her.

"Well," I say, "what are your strengths?"

She looks at her hands, and when I inspect them, I realize she has bitten her cuticles down to almost nothing.

"What?" I ask.

"I can't do anything," she says.

"That's not true!" I argue, but then realize I have no evidence to back it up.

She sees my face and I realize she's crying. She smiles a watery smile. "See," she says quietly.

"You have to be able to do something," I say.

"I can't." She shakes her head. "Remember? I spent the whole time training with spears and swords."

"The _entire _time? What got you your score of eight then?" I ask, skeptical.

"Well, I tried with the gun for a few hours, and with the bow and arrow for an hour."

"And?" I prod her.

"And nothing. I could barely pull my bow back, and although the gun was nice, I doubt I'll ever be able to get a hold of one in the arena."

"Don't give up hope," I say, even though I already gave it up a long time ago. "So is that what you showed the judges?"

"Yeah," she says.

"You must be good to get such a high score," I say.

She snorts. "Please. You got three points higher then me."

"That's because I was really good," I say, and this time she's silent.

"When did you learn to shoot?" I ask.

"In the Training Center."

"So," I repeat. "How good are you?"

"I dunno," she mutters.

"From how far away could you shoot a dummy in the heart?" I ask.

She mumbles something unintelligible. "What?" I ask.

"45 yards," she says more loudly.

I raise my eyebrows at her. "And thats bad?" She won't meet my gaze, but I plow on. "How long have you been hiding this secret talent?"

I haven't been hiding it!" she bursts out. "If you wold have paid more attention to me before you would have realized it!" And abruptly the spoiled brat I saw only yesterday is making a reappearance in front of me.

It takes all my self control to keep myself from yelling at her. I slowly take a deep breath, doing my best to look unperturbed. "I asked you what you were doing during training," I say. "And you told me all you did was spears and swords."

"That's because I didn't want to get your hopes up!" she yells, having no intention of calming down.

I almost laugh out loud. Get _my _hopes up? No one has been able to do that since Gale- and Gale broke my heart.

It's so odd to hear myself think it, before I realize that's because I said it out loud. Calliope is staring at me, mouth wide open. "Gale?" she whispers, or maybe I just think she does, because I am so caught up in my own thoughts. "Isn't that Damian's nephew?"

Not looking at her, I nod. "You're in love with him?" she asks. Again, I nod, even after telling myself not too. Because if this information gets out to the press, there will be controversy that I was never in love with Peeta in the first place.

But instead of getting excited, her expression softens. "I know what you mean," she says quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" I ask, wondering how many times we will have to have these talks before she trusts me completely.

"Iaveaoyreind," she mutters so quietly I cannot hear what she is saying.

"What?" I ask again.

"I have a boyfriend," she says more loudly. She flicks her eyes up to meet mine, waiting for my reaction.

Although I know I should feel stunned, all that comes is a faint feeling of surprise. The outpouring of emotions from her yesterday made me unconsciously expect scenes like that from her.

"Who?" I ask, and when I see her slightly surprised expression I realize I have not put enough shock into my words. Silently, I pray that she won't notice and then realize something- Calliope's crush might be someone I know.

I'm praying for two things now. I silently hope it won't be someone I know- or worse, someone like Gale.

She sighs and looks at her feet. "It doesn't matter," she says finally. "You aren't even interested."

I feel like hitting her, but again I take a deep breath and force myself to calm down.

"I want to know," I say and this time apparently I actually sound like I want to know, because Calliope sighs again, and looks at me.

"His name is Jacan."

The name is unfamiliar to me, which makes me feel slightly better. But he might be someone I only know by sight.

"How old is he?" I ask apprehensively. She doesn't answer for a minute and I sigh and put my head in my hands. My vision is flickering, and blurred spots of color have appeared on the edges of her vision. A slight ringing is sounding in my ears, but I do my best to ignore it as I say again, "How old is he?"

"He just turned ehgeaween," she mumbles the end of her sentence.

"What?" I say.

"He's eighteen," she says, only a fraction louder.

"EIGHTEEN!" I almost shout. I lower voice quickly. "Eighteen?" I say again, but this time it's more of a question. "He's four years older then you," I say weakly, but she continues on without paying any attention to me.

"I met him a while ago. It was in the fall, when I went into the woods to harvest apples. I came up to a really big tree with a ton of apples, and I started picking. And then, out of the blue, he dropped down from the branches and almost landed on me. And then he stopped and made sure I was alright and as soon as I said I was he said, 'So- you have any special plans for those apples? My dad makes a mean apple pie.' And it wasn't the offer that made me like him, it was the fact he offered. And we got together a couple weeks after that."

Her story wasn't unlike mine and Gale's except for one thing- she wasn't afraid to fall in love.

"What's his last name?" I ask, just to break the silence.

"Mellark," she says, and that's when he appears again.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day!**


	12. Preference

**A/N: I'm sorry this took so long- writers block! I've found writing one-shots helps me, so if any of you have an requests, even if they might be for out of this particular fandom, send them to me and I'll get back to you! As always, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games. It belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**EDIT: I have gone back and revised this story, so this is the updated version, which is slightly different then the original.**

Peeta is standing in the corner, staring at me. He looks different then he had before. Instead of wearing his tribute uniform and being 16 years old, he's five again, and wearing the same brown corduroy pants and white button-down shirt he wore the first day of kindergarden. I remember him telling me they were hand me downs from his older brother.

He has a glass of what looks like fruit punch, although I know that can't be it because that's even more expensive then orange juice. He holds an orange in his other hand but he ignores them both.

All of the sudden, a bloodcurdling shriek echos through the air and Peeta drops both things. He looks like he's about to lunge through the air towards me when, suddenly, he disappears.

Calliope is suddenly in my face. "Katniss?" She asks over and over, frantic, and I realize I was the one who screamed.

The world around me is spinning. The shadows clinging to the walls morph and transform into gruesome shapes before returning to their seemingly benign selves. The sliver of light near the doorway shrinks into nothingness, then returns with a blindingly bright explosion. I can almost feel the vibrations in the floorboards.

"I'm-I'm fine." I try to say, but no noise comes out. I clutch at my throat, and try to speak again. This time, a slight rasp comes out, but no intelligible words.

"Oh no," Calliope whispers, and I start to freak out.

Even though I don't anymore, I think about how I need my voice. I used to rely on it to hunt- and I realize that I do need it now- just for a different reason. It will be completely impossible to communicate with Haymitch without my voice- he'll be too drunk most of the time to be able to understand anything else.

I try to swear, but no sound comes out.

"Let me get you an attendant," Calliope says hurriedly, and she turns and rushes outside the room for a second. A moment later when she runs back in, a Capitol attendant is following her.

He is a large man that seems to be in his early thirties. He picks me up easily, as though I were no more then a sack of flour. As he lifts me, I can feel the muscles in his arm ripple.

I want to protest but every time I try to speak only a rasp comes out.

He finally lays me down roughly on a bed in the infirmary. A minute later, Damian and Haymitch come in. I am shocked to see Haymitch is completely sober.

"Katniss," Damian sighs, annoying me. "What happened?"

"She looked in the corner after I told her my boyfriend was Peeta's older brother, she screamed, and then she fell, and she hasn't been able to talk since!"

A look of understanding crosses Haymitch's face. "I understand," he says quietly and everyone's heads jerk around to face him.

Damian nods slowly and leaves the room. Calliope's face displays her confusion but she sighs and says, "I'll get Damian to explain it," before leaving.

The Capitol attendants slowly bleed out of the room, leaving me with plenty of time to stare at Haymitch in confusion.

"What?" I try to say after they've left the room. No noise comes out, but Haymitch sees my lips moving and understands what I'm trying to say.

"You're in love with Gabe."

I'm really hating my throat right now, because if it was fine I would be screaming denials at him right now. And telling him he got the name wrong.

"And you were in love with Peeta, no matter how much you wish you weren't."

I'm really really hating my throat right now.

"And now Peeta's gone and every time his name is mentioned you see him- the few flashes of memory you have left- and the combined stress of that and worrying about if Gale still loves you is making you unable to speak. You need to calm down to regain your voice."

I stare at Haymitch in shock. When did he become so knowledgable? Then I remember. The girl he was in love with died in the arena too.

Despite his words, no matter how hard I try to calm down, I can't get my throat to work again. But I am still allowed to go down to the Control Center after making a strict promise not to speak and being given a high tech headband.

The headband is hooked up to a small device they give me, into which I type what I want to say, and then a speaker in the headband says it for me.

I give it a try. _I like lamb and plum stew, _I type slowly. Suddenly, there is a ding and a mechanical voice says, "I like lamb and plum stew." It's robotic but the relief of finally being able to communicate makes a grin break out on my face.

"You look radiant Katniss," someone says from the corner. "Better keep that smile on your face."

I spin in a full circle to see Effie standing in the corner. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Katniss?" Effie asks again, her voice tinged with concern. "Are you okay?" Her face relaxes when I force the smile back on my face. _Great_, I type, although even a drunken Haymitch would be able to tell my smile is fake.

"Come on, Katniss. There's still two hours for you to talk to Haymitch. Calliope and Damian have already been talking for an hour. You missed lunch. I'll have someone send in something for you."

I nod absently, tuning her out as I follow her down the hall. As we walk, I silently wish I hadn't had throat problems because it cut down the time I had to talk to Haymitch. I need to figure out our whole plan in just two hours. I silently thank the Capitol for giving us the extra day. The couple days Effie kept me sick in bed have thrown me completely off track.

The moment Effie points out the door to me, I rush in. Ignoring her continued rambling, I shut the door immediately after I get inside. I barely have time to glance at her slightly crestfallen face before I am enclosed in darkness. In the few moments it takes my eyes to adjust to the gloom, I take a seat in the dark green armchair next to Haymitch.

_So_, I begin immediately typing. _What are our plans for the arena? What are we planing on sponsors- how many people have signed up yet? What's going on so far? And-_ Haymitch pulls my hand from the keyboard before I can type more.

"Sweetheart, calm down. We have plenty of time. I was hoping- we're going to talk about you first."

I yank my hands from his so I can type again. _Why?_

"Why what?"

_Why do you care so much? It doesn't matter what's going on in my personal life- it doesn't effect what I do here._

"Yes it does," Haymitch contradicts me. "Everything in you secretly wants to get back there, no matter the price. And you're prejudiced. You want to keep Damian alive, not because he has a chance, but because you're in love with his nephew and you're afraid if you can't manage it, Gabe-"

_Gale_, I type quickly, interrupting.

"Whatever," he says. "You're afraid if you can't manage it he'll hate you forever and you'll never have a chance at a relationship again."

I want to tell him he's wrong. But every time I type the words, I delete them just in time. It's as though they're stuck in my throat- or my fingers.

I look up in time to see Haymitch smile sadly. _The same thing happened with Maysilee, didn't it?_ I type quickly and before I can stop myself hit send.

The mechanical voice echos through the room, like an accusation. Haymitch looks down.

"Yes," he says finally, just when I think he's decided not to answer.

_Her name?_

"Rosie."

_When?_

"Two months after."

_Why did it stop?_

"For the same reason yours is about to. I felt guilty about it and that's probably half of the reason the two tributes I mentored died. That and inexperience."

_You mean Damian's going to die?_ I type, eyes wide.

"No! That's not what I meant. You have me. But, see, that proves that I'm right?"

_What? _I type.

"You immediately thought of Damian, because you are more concerned about his safety- because he's Gale's uncle."

I shake my head persistently but he just smiles. "I can't wait until you make up with Gale. That way you won't have to worry about him so much."

_But what if one of his siblings gets picked, and I can't save them? He'll hate me again. _I type.

"He won't," Haymitch says.

To avoid arguing with him, I look at the dandelion-colored clock on the wall and notice almost an hour has gone by.

_Haymitch_, I type urgently. _We need to talk about the tributes._

"You're right," Haymitch says. I realize this is the first time I can ever remember him holding a long conversation with anyone- he's usually too drunk to manage it.

_So what's the plan?_ I type.

He outlines all the details to me, so much that it takes the rest of the hour. I nod in agreement every time he pauses.

Finally, Effie knocks on the door.

"Dinner!" she calls through the wood, not bothering to open the door. Haymitch nods at me, as though saying farewell, and gets up from his chair. Hastily, I follow.

The dinner is delicious. Grilled chicken, miniature rolls with a garlic-butter dipping sauce, chopped red, green, and yellow peppers, mashed squash, and vanilla and chocolate swirled ice cream with hot fudge sauce for dessert.

As Calliope and Damian go back to their separate corners, Haymitch stops them. "Wait," he says. "I want to tell you- the arena's not what you expect."

I turn around my chair in surprise. Haymitch never told us this last year. I expected he'd be giving them the 'stay alive' thing he told us last year.

"You need to be ready for anything. When you first get into the arena, I want you to run. You might be tempted by the Cornucopia, but I want you to ignore it. If there is something within five feet of you, you can grab it. But no matter what, I don't want you wrestling with another tribute over something. Neither of you are strong enough to live."

He points to me. "She ran. That's why she lived." And then, without saying anything else, he gets up and leaves.

Calliope and Damian turn to me, as though I might be able to explain Haymitch's odd behavior. But following my old mentor's example, without explaining what I am doing I leave the room quietly. I can feel the heat of Calliope's eyes on me and I am glad when I turn the corner and she cannot stare at me anymore.

I knock quietly on Haymitch's door but no one answers. When I peek in he's asleep on his bed- or at least pretending to be.

I silently shut the door behind me, but when I stand there for a moment I hear no heavy footfalls or noises from his room. I sigh and head over to my room, but I can only lay down for a moment before I have to get back up. Pacing, I order a hot chocolate and rolls, and without sitting down, I eat them. Without something to do, my hands shake and my thoughts turn to Haymitch's accusation.

Do I really favor Damian? Why did my mind automatically flash to Damian?

Is it because of Gale? Or is it because he reminds me of Peeta?

The thought makes my whole body quake. As much as I want to deny it, I can't. The theory consumes my mind, until I can't think about anything else. Honestly, it makes a lot of sense. Damian's always taking care of me- like Peeta. He's in the same position Peeta was in last year- going into the arena trying to keep the other tribute alive.

I fall onto the bed. The room is spinning again, no doubt signaling another headache. The bright, multicolored lights of the Capitol shine brightly through the window, merging into a large blob of color. My head begins to ache.

What is wrong with me? Why am I so messed up? There's a knock on the door, but I don't bother to answer it. Slowly, the door creaks open. I cover my face with a pillow.

I pull out my keyboard and hastily type, _Go away Damian._

"I'm not Damian," a smooth voice says.

I angrily stand up, and then look at the face of the man standing by the door.

I can barely keep myself from fainting.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :) Also, just this once I'll tell you that the man in the doorway was _not _Peeta. :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)**


	13. Games

**A/N: Yay! Fast update! :) Thanks as always to the amazing people who review/favorite/alert. We're at 99 favorites, guys, and I'm seriously freaking out! Also- 134 alerts. Seriously. Dying here. As always, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games. It belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**EDIT: I have gone back and revised this story, so this is the updated version, which is slightly different then the original.**

My eyes widen and I take a shaky step back.

"Wh-wh-what are _you_ doing here?"

His eyebrows furrow. "I thought you'd want to see me," he says quietly.

I take another step back from him. "How could you do that to me?"

He takes a step closer to me. "I'm sorry," he says. "It wasn't my choice."

"Oh really? Because it seems like you chose to hurt me."

"I didn't. Not really."

"Yeah you did. It was pretty obvious to me, and I'm sure some others would agree."

"I'm sure they'd take my side."

I shake my head, closing my eyes. "Just leave," I say.

A moment later when I look up to apologize, Gale's gone.

Only after he leaves do I realize I spoke without using my headband, and that my throat feels fine. I rip it off, throwing it onto the dresser in the corner. It makes a dull thunk as it falls. I flop onto my bed and cover my eyes. I finally fall asleep, hoping desperately that when I wake up it will have all been part of a dream.

I can almost believe it. When I wake up, he's not in my room, and I shower and get changed without any interruptions. Still, the headache from last night remains, and the room still spins as I walk around, no matter how delicately. My vision is blurred in areas. Terrified he might be waiting for me at the breakfast table, I eat in my room before I realize this is the day Damian and Calliope go into the arena.

I rush downstairs and see them about to board the tribute trains. "Wait!" I call.

Calliope is already lost to me, but Damian turns. I rush forward. "Remember, help Calliope until the end. Run at the start- find water and high ground. Only grab things within five or ten feet of your pedestal. And- don't give up. If something happens to Calliope, at least try to win."

He nods, and looks like he wants to say something but a Peacekeeper roughly grabs him and shoves him onto the train.

I wave to Calliope through the window, before the same Peacekeeper shoves me back, sending me sprawling.

Abruptly he's standing there again. His hand, curled into a ball, juts out and collides with the Peacekeeper's nose. Or it would have. The moment before impact he dissolves into a silver mist.

It's all the proof I need that I am going mad.

Blinking, I try to get to my feet. But the world goes sideways every time I try.

_No, no no. Not today. Any day but today. _I think desperately. I try to get up again, but black spots invade my vision, merging with the already blurred bits and making it impossible to get my bearings.

"Katniss!" Effie cries. She kneels down beside me, and Haymitch comes up.

"What happened?"

Hazily, I point my finger to the Peacekeeper.

Haymitch rounds on him. "What the hell! She has to mentor!"

For the first time, the Peacekeeper seems to see my face. His eyes widen and he backs up quickly.

But Haymitch isn't done with him. He follows the Peacekeeper and clocks him in the nose.

Lights flash and I'm not sure whether it's my imagination, the blow to my head, or cameras flashing. I don't stay conscious long enough to check.

When I wake up, I'm in a hospital bed. Frantically, I check the clock. It's only noon- the Games don't start for two hours.

I realize a metal band is tight around my waist, restraining me, but they have left my clothes on. Pretending I am exhausted, I slowly inch out of the band that holds me. Finally, my waist is free. In one swift movement I yank myself out of the metal circle. I jump out of bed and rush out the sliding doors before they beep shut.

I hurry to the District 12 floor and, using the elevator card I've had in my pocket since Effie gave it to me, head downstairs to the Control Center.

It's a completely different place then it was last week. It's almost screaming with activity. Suddenly, a man in all black comes out of the Control Center. "I have the final sponsor money amounts for today!"

My eyebrows furrow. Does that mean Haymitch didn't already know how much there was?

Suddenly, Finnick is behind me. He looks rushes and anxious, but when he sees my confused expression he stops long enough to explain. "They post them today, and then there is a screen in all our rooms that gives us constant coverage. In about five minutes they'll be posted in our rooms. Most people wait for that."

I nod, grateful, but before I can thank him he's rushed up to the man in black, no doubt to get his total. I go into the District Twelve room. I notice for the first time the tiny screen in between the chairs. They have changed from the old, broken wicker into plush armchairs. I can't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the incident with the Peacekeeper this morning.

I sigh and sink down onto the plump, stuffed cotton cushion. Haymitch is across from me, napping on the blue chair. That or he's passed out from alcohol.

"Haymitch," I say in a normal voice, but he doesn't wake up. I remind myself that he could just be a heavy sleeper.

"Haymitch," I say more loudly, yet he still does not respond.

"Haymitch!" I practically scream. He jerks slightly in his sleep, but just turns a little and starts to snore.

I go to the small panel at the back wall and push the button. "One large glass of ice water please," I say into the microscopic speaker.

A moment later an Avox appears holding a tray with a glass filled to the brim with icy water filling it.

"Thank you," I say, before remembering I'm not supposed to talk to him unless I am giving him an order. Ignoring this rule, I touch him lightly on the arm. "And I'm sorry."

He doesn't bother to try to ask me what I'm sorry for, or even try to look confused. He nods at me, and turns and speeds out of the room with his silver tray before I can bother to tell him anything else.

I return back to Haymitch. I try to wake him up one more time, but he stays sleeping. I go back to the water. In one swift movement, I dump the water over his face.

"Whas- whas going on? " He reaches his arm out and grabs the knife sitting next to him on the table. He swings it through the air and I hastily take a few steps back.

He shakes his head and seems to realize where he is. I take a closer look at him and realize his eyes are _not _bloodshot.

"I thought you were drunk." I say, feeling the heat creep up my neck.

"I'm not always drunk, sweetheart." It's the first time I can remember him calling me sweetheart in days. "I'm just a heavy sleeper- a _very _heavy sleeper."

I glance at the clock. "The sponsor lists should be posted." I say, changing the subject.

"Look at them, will you sweetheart?" Haymitch says, heading over to the board He pushes the speaker button. "Can I have a few large towels in here?" he asks the microphone.

Moments later, an Avox appears with a cart full of towels. I sigh when I realize it's someone else.

I turn to the mini screen on the wall. Pressing on the touch-screen, I select the **Read Sponsors **option. It blinks, flashing the words,** One moment. Please wait while we retrieve your data.**

A sign pops up. **Would you like to view your female tribute data chart, male tribute data chart, or both data charts?** I quickly select both.

After a moment, a chart fills the screen. Two columns are labeled **Female** and **Male.** The rows are labeled with **Current Gift Options, Current Amount of Sponsors, Sponsors Lost, Sponsors Gained, Current Allies, Current Ally Options. **It brings it up to a total of 6 rows.

"Umm, Haymitch?" I ask in confusion. He pushes me aside. "Yes," he says, almost to himself. What if we..." He did some fiddling on the screen. **Move Sponsor Money From Damian to Calliope? **The button asks him. Before I can stop him, he pushes yes.

I take a closer look at the board. Instead of being labeled in dollar amounts, under Current Gift Options it tells you what you can send to your tribute. There's a scale at the bottom. Suddenly, Damian's drops and Calliope's rises.

I look at Calliopes gift options and realize she now has enough for a blow gun. She had to have a lot of sponsors to be able to afford that. I wonder what got her so many. Her score was not extraordinary.

I also see that Damian has enough for a knife, but Haymitch doesn't do anything. I point it out to him to be sure.

"Damian has enough for a kni-"

"I know! I don't want to waste sponsor money. He might need it later." He doesn't say anything else.

A knock distracts me. I turn to see Finnick standing in the doorway.

"Hello, Katniss," he says, his voice as smooth as silk.

"Hello, Finnick," I say, attempting to copy his seductive tone. My voice is hoarse, as it has been all morning. It's almost as though not using for a day has robbed me of the ability to use it as I normally do.

"You don't have your headband on," he notes. I don't know what to say to that, so I don't speak.

He stares at me for a moment, as though I am a specimen under a microscope he wants to study. At last, he says, "How much can you buy with each of your people?"

I am about to tell him to butt out when Haymitch speaks up. "Calliope's got a blow gun and Damian's got a knife and various medicine."

Finnick raises his eyebrows. "Penicillin?"

Haymitch nods. It's almost as though District Four is allied with Calliope and Damian. Unless they actually are.

"Haymitch," I say suddenly. "Who are our allies?"

"No one yet."

"Are there ay predetermined allies?"

"Four and Eleven," Haymitch says, without looking up.

Unwillingly, I glance over at Finnick. His face looks like it's made of marble- smooth and emotionless, as hard as stone.

"Why?" I ask.

"Why not?" Finnick shrugs.

"Twelve aren't very strong allies."

"Damian got the highest score."

"That's why you're doing this?"

He shrugs again. "You got the highest score last year- you were from Twelve. If we would have allied with you instead of One and Two it probably would have kept them alive longer."

I nod, but it doesn't seem to make sense. For some reason, instead of thinking as Damian as identical to me, I was thinking about Calliope as my twin. She's young, her partner is trying to get her out, she's doing something for her younger sister, and her personality is very similar to mine. The little details like her asking the same question as me that day on the train make us seem even more similar. But Finnick doesn't see any of these things. All he knows is Calliope got an eight. Damian, however, got a ten. That's the only detail that really matters to him. Damian is so much higher; it must be guaranteed in his mind he will outlast Calliope. Just like I outlasted Peeta.

Finnick glances down at a shiny silver and gold watch glimmering on his wrist. "It's only half an hour until the Games start. We're supposed to leave our individual rooms so they can get them ready for us."

Panicked, I glance at the clock. Sure enough, it's 1:30. Suddenly, Haymitch is standing next to me. "Let's go, then," he says shortly.

We head out and I am surprised to see we are headed for the main Control Center.

Inside, the walls and floors are completely black, and screens cover the walls. What I assume are Avoxes sit on chairs in front of panels of buttons. There are twelve of them, each labeled with a number. All the groups go and stand next to their Avox. Haymitch walks me over to ours.

It takes a moment before I realize it is the red-headed girl who took care of me last year.

"So," Haymitch is saying. "If you ever approve a gift without me, you can come in here and tell the Avox you want to send it. But wait and tell her until you have the right time- preferably when there is no one else around but secure allies, like Eleven.

"What about Four?"

"I don't think we should give too much trust to Four. The tributes can be overconfident, and that can mean they are prone to stealing and backstabbing. They think they can get away with anything."

When Haymitch looks away, I glance down quickly to Four again. Finnick certainly fits the prototype of confident and coolheaded, but does Mags? I finally decide that I don't know enough about her to make that conclusion.

"Come on, sweetheart," Haymitch says, jerking me out of my reverie. "Five minutes."

He leads me back to our room. I walk in and find two bags on the floor. I glance in and see my clothes. A handheld controller is on the floor. I pick it up and push a button. A doorway opens up in the wall. I peek in and see a cot and a partition. I walk in and look behind it and see another cot.

"It's starting!" Haymitch calls.

I run out in time to see a large screen being lowered from the ceiling. A scene pops up- the arena; 24 plates surrounding the Cornucopia. I take a quick glance at the arena- it's watery. A mountain in the corner is covered in snow, and a beach to the left of the Cornucopia has water washing up on it. To the right is a large lake. The rest of the arena is occupied by a forest. Streams coming from the area of the mountain lead into them.

With a creak, the plates slide open. Slowly 24 cylinders rise into the air. Then they slide down, leaving the tributes standing there.

The Games have begun.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :) **

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)**


	14. Burn

**A/N: ESP0JO3P[QV21K0C-I3QOIEKOSMVHIP3QMC9R0=1 p;a'cr 3p2]q. I love you guys. Seriously. All of you who review/favorite/alert/read are awesome. As always, enjoy!**

Sixty seconds. For sixty seconds I can see the tributes standing there, taking everything in. A few are perched, ready to burst forward and grab the horde of weapons and food that are placed temptingly in the mouth of the Cornucopia. They are spread away from the mouth, but not very far away. The farthest thing from the Cornucopia is a canteen for water that's about fifteen feet from the mouth. Still no where near Damian or Calliope. My eyes seek them out. Suddenly, I spot Damian, near the edge. But Calliope must be on the other side, because I can't see her. Then the camera flashes to another view, and I can see the other side. Calliope is directly across from Damian. I realize the bell must be about to chime, and silently wish it would go back to the other side. A second later, it does.

The moment the camera turns back to it's previous view of the mouth of the Cornucopia, the gong is hit. And all hell breaks loose.

Of course, the several Careers that I can identify- the big boy from One and the muscular girl from Two- rush to the Cornucopia along with several others who may or may not be Careers.

Most of the other tributes are racing around the Cornucopia as well, searching for things far enough from the Careers to grab but useful enough to need. As soon as they are armed, the Careers strike out. I see Calliope has found Damian in all this mess. I can see the boy from District Four make his way over to Calliope and Damian, as well as the ten year old girl from District Eleven. I can't help but wonder where the others are. The man from Eleven runs over, holding two backpacks. They sprint towards the woods, following one of the streams. They are obviously anxious to get away from the carnage.

"Why aren't they waiting for the girl?" I ask Haymitch out of the corner of my mouth, not taking my eyes off the screen.

"She's not going to be any help, sweetheart." Haymitch says.

I automatically look towards the Careers, thinking that maybe she joined them. Halfway there my eyes find her body. A spear is imbedded in her eye socket. Blood surrounds her. I look away before I notice anything else I don't want to see.

The cameras flash to a view of Calliope, Damian, Eleven and Four walking through the woods. Then it changes to the other escapees- The five year old from District Five walking with the 25 year old from District Ten. I wonder why he didn't join the Careers- they would've easily let him in. The sixteen year old girl from Ten and the 27 year old woman from Five have joined them. There are more big groups then usual this year, but I don't stop to wonder why.

I realize something. I lean over and tap Haymitch the shoulder urgently. "Haymitch," I say. "I don't even know their names."

He goes through all the ones he knows with me. Grove and Ambrosia are the tributes from District Eleven. Leaf is the male tribute from District Four. Justice and Stone are from District One, and Clydell is the male from District Ten. Glade is the female from Ten, and Lake and Ash are from District Two. The five year old is named Orville. He doesn't know the rest of them.

I nod and turn my head to the screen, trying to keep the names straight in my head. "We should have told Calliope and Damian," I say.

"I already did, sweetheart."

"When?"

"When do you think I told them our allies?"

I decide to ignore it, and focus on what's happening in the arena. Their group walks on for awhile, but I can only tell roughly how far, because the screen keeps flashing between them, the bloodbath, and the other large group. Occasionally it will throw in a picture of another lone tribute just to let you know they're alive.

Their climb starts to slant upward. The river runs flat, and slowly they are rising about it as they walk on the hill next to it. Gradually, the ground gets more rocky. It's more like they're perched on a small cliff then a hill.

There are no trees in the direct vicinity to hide them, but the boulders next to the river partially obscure them. I silently pray that they don't get caught by the Careers.

"We should figure out what supplies we have," Damian says onscreen.

Ambrosia and Grove each pull out a backpack, and Leaf has two knifes, a spear, and two water canteens, as well as a square of tarp.

I didn't notice them pick anything up, but Calliope has two loaves of bread in her backpack as well as a hat and a canteen for water. Damian has a knife, and I take a moment to feel thankful he has a weapon.

"We almost have enough for everyone then," Leaf says, and I start to wonder how they got so much stuff. Everyone but Damian has a backpack, and even he has a knife.

They put all their things back into their backpacks, except for Leaf, who gives Grove and Calliope knifes and keeps the spear for himself. He also gives Damian a water canteen. Calliope passes Leaf a loaf and Ambrosia passes him a package of matches. He nods to each of them and stuffs them in his large backpack.

Its odd watching the Games just like I do every year at home. For some reason, I expected it to be different. The constant flashing between camera views is annoying, as we don't always get to watch ours, and I start to wonder why they don't just show you your tributes at all time.

They head down the other side of the hill, avoiding rocks and various other obstacles. They stick to the river, and continue walking. Suddenly, cannons puncture the air. I can see Calliope stop to listen. "Six," she says as soon as they stop. No one needs to ask what she's talking about.

Near to dinner time, a cannon goes off again. It's from the female from District Six. I watch the Careers slice her in half. They soon flash back to the tributes. About the same time, they break out a loaf of bread, which they give part of to Ambrosia. Damian finds a patch of berries and passes some out to everyone. He also finds some nuts which he gives to Calliope and Ambrosia.

Soon the sun begins to set, and Damian shows Leaf how to set up a trap in the woods. They use some twine District Eleven sends down. Four sends down some crackers and non-perishable food that Leaf puts in his backpack. Haymitch sends down the blow gun for Calliope, which she puts in her find pack. They a small collection of rocks forming a cave similar to the one I hid in last year, and they all squeeze in. There are gaps in the rock above them so they can see the sky.

Slowly, the Capitol seal appears. Then the faces of the dead tributes appear. First comes the female from Four who died in the bloodbath. That means all of One, Two,and Three are alive. Then both of the tributes from six, and both from seven. Then comes the male from eight, and finally, the female from nine.

Everyone I know the name of is alive. Calliope turns to look at Leaf, who is lying next to her. "What was her name?" she asks quietly.

"Daisy," he says. Before he rolls over, I think I can see a tear glistening in his eye.

The camera flashes to the Careers for the Capitol anthem, and then to the other group of tributes afterward. By the time it switches back, they're all asleep with Grove on watch.

"We should go to bed too, sweetheart," Haymitch says.

"But what if something happens?" I ask.

"Finnick is going to stay up until midnight, and he'll wake up the female mentor from Eleven, who will wake up me at four o'clock. Tomorrow, Mags will stay up, wake up the male mentor from Eleven, and then wake up you. That way, if something happens we all know.

At one in the morning, I am shaken awake.

"It's not my turn yet," I mutter, still half asleep. Then I realize what's happened. I sit up immediately, running into the other room. Haymitch follows. But the screen is black.

"We're all watching in Four. It's the biggest room."

I run down the hall. On the featured screen, the tributes are in the middle of a wildfire. They are standing on top of the rock formation they were sleeping under. They can't climb a tree because most of them are on fire. A few trees begin to fall. The fire uses them as ladders, and begins to climb up.

I'm worried in a moment someone will be gone.

"What can we do?" I ask desperately.

"Nothing," Haymitch says.

"But we can't just let them all die!"

"They won't kill them all so early in the Games. They probably are waiting for someone to die or get injured, and then the Gamemakers will stop the fire."

We wait and fire grows higher. Soon it has reached the level of the rocks the tributes are perched on. In a moment, they will be consumed by the fire.

The fire crawls up, using a branch as a stepping stone. It catches Grove's pant leg, and soon his entire leg is on fire. The shriek that rings through the air is short lived. He falls quickly, not having a leg to keep himself up. Soon afterwards, the fire dies. A cannon booms. Calliope hides Ambrosia's eyes as the hovercraft appears.

I sigh and sit back in my chair. It takes me a moment to realize that someone is crying.

It's the female mentor for District Eleven. She has her head in her hands. Nobody does anything. The sound of her crying is sharp and metallic, and a reminder of how cruel the arena can be.

I don't know what to do. I close my eyes, and her crying begins to dwindle off. I look up and see the other mentor from Eleven has his arm around her. He leads her up and out of the room.

I turn to look at Finnick and Mags. Although they lost a tribute earlier today, they are fine. I don't understand why the woman is cut up about the tribute dying.

Mags clucks her teeth and I turn to look at her. "Door thung." It takes me a moment to understand what she's saying. "Der grandsun, dat was."

"That was her grandson?" I ask. Mags nods. The chances of her grandson getting in the Games are almost nonexistent. The Games must be rigged. But then, I already knew that.

"Come on, sweetheart. We better get some rest. This is enough for one night."

"What if something happens?" I ask again, but I let him lead me back to the room. Unwillingly, I yawn.

"Nothing is going to happen. They already have enough extra things to play in the morning for everyone."

I lay in bed, but I can't get to sleep. My mind is consumed by the image of Grove, writhing on the ground, burning. I realize they must still be playing with the 'Girl on Fire' thing from last year. Or maybe they used it from this year too. I can't remember what we did one the chariot rides. It takes me a moment to remember where I was when they happened- wandering the halls and crying in my bedroom about Peeta.

I am disgusted with myself. I have been treating everyone like they are below me, like I went through more then they did. I haven't been focused at all on trying to keep Calliope and Damian alive- it's been all about dealing with Peeta's death and feeling sorry for myself about Gale.

I toss and turn, but I can't get to sleep. I keep thinking about District Eleven. The mentor must be a mess. If she kills her grandson, then Ambroisa will live, but if Grove lives, the Ambrosia will die. I guess the Games figured it out for her though. I wonder if they will for me.

I was so caught up with Calliope and Damian, I completely forgot everyone else. Even if one of them wins, not only will the other one die, but so will the little five year old, Ambrosia, and everyone else too. No matter what I do, there will always be death and carnage.

I finally fall asleep when Haymitch gets up at four o'clock to watch. But that night when I dream, my mind is filled with dragons made from fire. They spit fireballs and my leg burns. Soon my whole body is covered in flames. They feel like fury.

They don't go away when I get up.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)**


	15. Death

**A/N: Okay. So tomorrow is the last day of my spring break, so I probably won't be able to update daily anymore. However, there's only eight chapters left of this- gasp!- so it won't be too long before it's done. At the very least, I should have it finished within the next two weeks. And there's a sequel! Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**Note: I haven't said this yet, but my tumblr is **likesblaine **for anyone who is interested :)**

Haymitch wakes me up at dawn. I run to the District Four room in time to see a dead tribute being dragged off. Another cannon blasts, and another hovercraft appears. The dead tributes are the females from Five and Ten. The man and the little five year old are running away from the Careers. The death toll has reached into the double digits. Ten, dead. That's more then a third of the people in the arena. I start to wonder if Calliope or Damian will actually be dead in three days. I imagine taking their bodies, cold and white in a plain wooden box, back to District Twelve and shudder. My view of coffins in the Meadow back home melts into my view of the arena. The screen flashes to an overhead view and I can see that they are coming closer to Calliope and Damian. And the Careers are only moments behind. The screen flashes to the arena, where Leaf, Damian, and Calliope are talking while Ambrosia sleeps.

"We need to figure out a real plan. I say we should stick on the defensive. Without Daisy or Grove, we only really have two people who can fight," Leaf says. Neither Damian or Calliope ask which one of them is the stronger one. "Going on the offensive will just get us hurt."

Damian quickly agrees, repeating Leaf. "Going offense will get us killed, " he says conclusively.

"But- that's not going to work," Calliope says.

Both their heads turn to Calliope as though she is insane. "But it won't. How many victors have won without fighting back?"

They don't need long. "Annie Cresta," Leaf says.

"Who?" Damian asks. I'm surprised he doesn't know who she is; even I know who she is, and I never used to pay any attention to the Games that wasn't enforced.

"The mentor from my district. She won when the arena flooded. She- well, she went crazy, but she didn't fight back."

"Do you really want to end up insane? And besides, she probably only won because she was the best swimmer. We have to go on the offense."

"But how?"

"I think I might have an idea."

"What?"

"We play on their weaknesses."

Five minutes later they have it all figured out. It flashes back to an upper view. The Careers are drawing closer. They are now a few hundred feet behind Orville and Clydell, but they manage to follow them. I am starting to worry.

"You should go to sleep," Calliope says to Leaf. "I'll keep watch for the next couple hours. I'll wake you at dawn."

Leaf nods and lays down. A minute later, he's asleep.

Damian sits down next to Calliope. But when she tells him to go to sleep, he refuses. "I'm not tired," he claims. But he does a terrible job of hiding the yawn that follows.

He stares up at the stars manufactured by the Capitol; at the purple moon. "Do you think it will work?" he wonders aloud.

Calliope sighs. "I don't know. But let's hope, for all our sakes, that it does."

Suddenly, a strangled yells rips through the trees, echoing towards Calliope and Damian. The source of the noise is the man from Ten. He shoves the boy forward as he struggles to his feet. The Careers close in.

I realize everything is deathly silent. Not making any noise, Calliope slowly stands up. I hear the crunching of approaching footsteps- the Careers are close- or the others are.

Leaf gets up slowly. He's mouthing something. _On three silently move that way,_ he mouthes, while he points in the opposite direction of the sounds of the footsteps.

A noise makes them pause. It's a little kid talking. "But I wanna go home," he says in such a tiny voice it makes me want to cry.

He appears a moment later, a few feet ahead of Clydell, the 25 year old from District Ten. He's a little scratched, no doubt from his fall in the woods, but he doesn't seem to have any major injuries and he's in very good shape, not to mention handsome. I have no idea why he teamed with someone that weak. No doubt he has lots of sponsors- the Careers probably would have taken him.

Suddenly, Clydell spots Calliope. Immediately he steps in front of Orville, draws his sword, and advances.

"Stop!" Calliope yells immediately, holding her hands out in front of her protectively. "We don't want to hurt you!"

He stops advancing but doesn't put away the sword.

"Look," Leaf sighs. "If we had wanted to hurt you we already could have overpowered you by now. So just put away the sword." He still doesn't move.

Calliope sighs and moves to look at the boy.

Damian is the only one still willing and able to reason with him. "You need the allies," he says gently. He nods towards Orville. "And he won't win with you alone to protect him. You can't save him from the Careers- or whoever attacked you- a second time."

Finally Clydell relents and leads Orville over to Calliope.

"Hey, little man," Calliope says. "What's your name?"

"Orville," he says, in a tiny pipsqueak voice I remember from the Training Center. My heart melts. "Who are you?"

Calliope kneels down. "I'm Calliope. Can you say that?"

"Calliope," he says, his voice perfect. Calliope grins at him. "Come on over here," Calliope says, gesturing to where Ambrosia is sitting.

The Careers finally make it through the trees. There's only two of them who pursued. I think they are the girl and the boy from two- Lake and Ash. I guess the others didn't want to waste their energy following.

Their reactions are slow and sluggish. Our band of tributes don't notice the Careers until they've launched themselves at them, weapons draw.

"Protect Orville and Ambrosia!" Calliope yells, grabbing her knife and running in front of the little kids. Damian follows her, and Leaf and Clydell rush forward to intercept the Careers.

In a moment, Leaf has Lake dead. He slits her throat and she falls to the ground, blood covering the earth around her. Ash stabs Clydell in the leg and rushes behind Leaf, sticking his knife in his back.

"No!" Ambrosia yells. She leaps up and runs over to Leaf. "No!" Before Clydell can get up, Ash sticks another knife in her neck. She falls over, dead instantly.

Clydell limps over and uses his sword to completely cut off Ash's head. He falls over as a pool of blood surrounds him, before the light leaves his eyes. It's the first real bloodbath of the Games. A second later, Finnick runs into our room, followed closely by Eleven, Five, and Ten.

It takes me a moment to realize Orville isn't the only one crying.

I start to wonder why Damian and Calliope haven't died yet. And then I realize it's because everyone has been protecting them, because they're so weak.

It won't take long for them to die.

Just like in the bloodbath, as soon as they are sure everything is done, the Capitol quickly fires off five cannons. The screen flashes to the Careers. I can see them computing it- they might actually think that Ash and Lake are still alive. That would mean that one of our tributes escaped.

That's clearly what they think because they smile at each other, not completely hiding the slight confusion in their eyes. The mentor from Five comes over to me. "I'm Lilah," she says quietly. "And this is Gabe." She gestures to a man behind her. "Your tributes are with Orville." I nod at her, and attempt to smile at Gabe. But it feels as though the muscles on my face are frozen solid.

We stare at each other, and without speaking we understand each other perfectly- we cannot let the Capitol get away with this. Not this time. One of them is getting out of the arena alive.

I finally turn my attention back to the screen. Damian and Calliope are trying to carry Orville by trading off back and forth between each other, but it's slowing them down. They go from running to a fast walk. They can't afford to slow down. The camera flashes back to the remaining Careers, who are already headed towards the site of the most recent bloodbath. You can see the worried look in their eyes. They have reached the halfway point and I'm sure they expected their allies to meet them there. The cameras flash back and forth, and the closer to the bloodbath they get the more worried the Careers seem. In contrast, the farther Calliope and Damian walk, the more calm they seem.

The camera zeros in on the Careers reactions when they find the blood. The packs left by the Careers must have been dead giveaways. Their shocked expressions quickly change to anger and bloodthirsty expressions that look wrong on the faces of eighteen year olds. They quickly discover the crushed path Calliope and Damian made making their escapes and hurry to follow them.

"We have to do something," Lilah murmurs quietly.

"What?" Gabe asks. "There isn't anything we _can _do. All that's left is to wait and hope they end up alright."

"No," Haymitch butts in. "We have all the sponsor money from our allies- that's enough to buy several blow guns alone. And with yours and Ten's we have enough to buy several more. We actually have enough to probably get them a real gun. We have to use it for something."

"But what? Nothing can protect them against the Careers."

I suddenly get an idea. "A Peacekeeper would."

"What?" Everyone is confused.

"A Peacekeeper would be able to control them. And he would use one of their weapons- a gun. A Peacekeeping gun."

We pool all our money into Calliope's account and decide to set up a base where at least two people are awake at all times. They move their things into our room and slowly everyone trickles out, leaving just Haymitch, Lilah, Gabe and I.

I head to the main Control Center to input our savings. I go straight up to our Avox and say, "We need to get a Peacekeeper's gun."

Apparently I get her attention because she turns to me, alarmed. I quickly backtrack. "I mean, we need to send one into the arena. For Calliope." She calms down a little and checks the screen. She nods and types and few commands. She goes through a series of options and then there's a whooshing noise. She turns to me and nods again. I take that as my cue to leave and retire back to Haymitch. When I get back and check the screen there's hardly any sponsor money left. And there will be even less tomorrow.

"Should we spend it?" I wonder aloud. It's worth a water bottle today but tomorrow it will probably only be worth a beef stick. And the day after, it will only buy them a cracker, then a crumb.

"No," Haymitch says.

"Why not? It won't be worth much soon."

"We might not have to wait long, sweetheart"

It takes me a moment to realize what he's saying. "You think the gun won't work? That they'll die?"

"I'm not saying that. But if it takes too long to get them the gun sent down, they could die."

I glance at the screen and realize he's right. From an aerial shot, the cameras show how close the Careers are to Calliope and Damian- only a quarter of a mile away. And they're gaining fast.

The camera zeros in on Calliope's face and I can see her frightened expression. They are running again, but Orville is crying and struggling and even the weight of him is slowing them down. I have no idea how Clydell managed to escape with him from the Careers.

"No," Haymitch mutters angrily.

"What? What?" I ask anxiously.

"They can't send down the damn gun until they stop! Otherwise it could land anywhere! Damn it!" He smacks the table.

"That means..." My voice trails off as I stare at the screen, horrified.

"If they don't stop running they'll die!"

My eyes follow the Careers progress- only a few hundred yards separates them from Calliope and Damian. Suddenly, Damian screeches to a halt. The Careers slow, wondering what he's doing. He pulls a spear from the packs and steps in front of Calliope and Orville. The Careers laugh.

Calliope curls her body around Orville, shushing him. "Please send something to save us," Calliope whispers. She repeats it over and over, like a prayer. "Please send something to save us."

Finally, miraculously, the parachute appears in the sky. It drifts lower. The Careers notice it, and where it's heading, and charge Damian.

Somehow he manages to hold both of them off. Calliope scurries back from the fight, still cradling Orville in her arms. A second later, the gun lands with a thud onto the ground before them. She sets Orville down and grabs it almost eagerly. The camera flashes to the Careers fight only moments before the knife impales itself into Damian's stomach.

Calliope rushes in front of Orville, holding the gun out in front of her. The Careers draw their swords. Two shots ring through the air, and it's done. They lie dead on the ground, a bullet hole in each one's head.

I hear Damian groan and Calliope rushes to his side, forgetting for a moment about Orville.

"Damian, Damian. Say something," she pleads.

He makes a odd noise, almost like clearing his throat. "Tell Anthea I'm sorry," he croaks. His eyes turn skyward as he stares at the purple moon. "Such a pretty night," he murmurs. The light in his eyes fade.

This time I am sure I'm not the only one crying.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)**


	16. Innocence

**A/N: Okay, so another sad chapter. But she'll get to see Gale soon! Anyway- WE MADE IT TO THREE HUNDRED REVIEWS. FLAIL MOMENT. I love you guys. Really. Thank you so much for reading this and taking the time to review. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**Note: My tumblr is **likesblaine **for anyone who is interested :)**

I watch as the tears start to drip down Calliope's face. Orville waddles over. "Calliope?" he asks in his tiny voice. He pokes Damian on the shoulder. "Damian?" He turns to face Calliope. "When is he going to wake up?"

The question makes her cry harder.

He kneels down next to her, patting her on the shoulder.

"It's okay," he says. "Cwydell will wake up from his nap soon. He'll make it all better.

Calliope seems to realize if she doesn't do something soon Orville will realize something is wrong. And if he starts crying she has no way to stop him.

She kneels over and kisses Damian on the cheek, then picks up Orville. She heads over to the Careers and picks up the three packs they're carrying. She leads Orville back along the path they had been following. "The Cornucopia," she mutters to herself. I realize what she's thinking. No one else will know until tonight that the Careers are all dead. So they can keep their stash.

I think for a moment and realize there are only six tributes left in the arena. The games are going by quickly; two thirds of all the tributes are dead. Only Calliope and Orville, the tributes from three, and the girl from eight and the man from nine are left. It's strange that all the Careers are dead; usually they're the last ones left.

The arena is close to empty now. They should be able to evade their captors for a while.

I realize how stupid I'm being. First of all, at night, everyone will realize the Careers are dead, and head to where their stash is. Even if Calliope and Orville do escape, the Capitol will find a way to push them together, or finish them off.

"This will be over soon," I murmur.

Lilah nods. "The Capitol will push them together sooner then you might think. They might not even wait for tonight."

I sigh. I have a piercing headache. I rub my temple and it screams in protest. Lilah sees the look on my face. "Something wrong, honey?"

"Headache," I manage to spit out.

"Go ahead and lie down, hon," she says, pushing me gently towards the room. "We'll wake you up if something exciting happens."

I think I nod. My head feels like a bowling ball on my shoulders. I fall onto the bed, and I am immediately asleep.

I dream I am in the arena. I watch as Orville sits next to Damian. His chubby hands paw at Damian's face. Calliope hurries forward to pick him up. District Three arrives before her. They slit Orville's throat and turn to Calliope. She shoots them twice each. The woman from eight comes up. Calliope tries to shoot her, but she has run out of bullets. She throws a spear and Calliope falls...

I wake sweating. Lilah is sitting next to me. "Darling?" she asks in a voice that reminds me of my mother. "Are you alright? You were screaming.

A pounding is loud in my ears. It feels like someone is banging on the inside of my skull with a metal hammer. I press my hands to my ears, wishing for it to stop. "I'll leave you," Lilah whispers. She shuts the door slowly and leaves me in total darkness. I think I drift off again.

When I wake again, there's a weight at the end of my bed. I wonder if Lilah has come back. But when I open my eyes it isn't her.

Peeta sits next to Gale at the bottom of my bed. I want to rub my eyes but worry it will make my headache worse. I settle for blinking a few times, then have to stop because it makes the room spin.

Peeta comes up to me. "I told you to live, Katniss. Being with Gale is okay. Live, Katniss. Live." He turns and goes back to his position at the bottom of the bed. Gale comes up to me.

"I'm sorry, Katniss. I'll forgive you if you forgive me." And then he and Peeta simultaneously get up and walk through the door. I start to wonder if it was just a dream, before Haymitch bursts in. "Katniss, you have to see this."

I try to hurry but when I get up I almost fall over. Haymitch comes forward and helps me up. "Come on," he says urgently.

By the time we make it out there, I can barely tell what's happening. "What?" I ask.

"The other tributes are fighting. If they finish each other it will just be District Three and Calliope and Orville."

Suddenly I forget about my headache. My eyes are fixated on the screen. I sit quickly in between Lilah and Gabe. I know that the mentors in Eight, Nine, and Three are doing the exact same thing.

With a quick jab, the man from Nine finishes her off. The cannon booms and he backs away so the hovercraft can retrieve her body. It's starting to get dark, and I know they'll post the faces soon. I must have underestimated how long I slept. It can't have been more than an hour.

The sky gets dark and the Capitol seal appears in the sky. It flashes the faces of all nine dead tributes. The tributes from One, then Lake and Ash, Leaf, the woman from Five, the woman from Eight, the woman from Ten, Clydell, Ambrosia, and Damian.

It flashes to the faces of the tributes from Three, who look completely shocked. They turn to each other and start whispering. I can tell immediately they plan to go ransack the Cornucopia. The camera quickly flashes to the man from Nine. He has an injured leg. He doesn't seem to care that the Careers loot lies almost unprotected.

The camera finally shows Calliope and Orville. They are sitting by the Cornucopia but they haven't settled, and they are clearly getting ready to go. They have their backpacks on when Calliope grabs the gun and turns to go. She tries to pick up a sleeping Orville, but the moment she touches him he screams. She tries desperately to quiet him, but he continues to wail. I finally understand what he's saying. "Momma!" he wails. "Momma!"

The District Three tributes were just approaching the other side of the Cornucopia. They hear his wails and change directions immediately. Calliope hears them coming, and pulls the gun out, crouching low over Orville's body.

They appear and hold their hands up when they see her gun. "We don't want to hurt you," the woman says, her voice only trembling slightly.

"I have to save Orville." Calliope says, her voice quavering.

"We can work something out!" the man pleads with her.

"There's only us and one more tribute left. And for Orville to live, all the rest of us have to die." Shakily, she shoots the man in the forehead. He falls and a moment later a cannon announces his death. She turns to the woman. "I'm very sorry," she says and a second later the woman falls.

Calliope turns her attention to Orville. At the sounds of the cannons, Orville quiets.

"You'll be back to your momma soon, little guy," Calliope says and she kisses him gently on his forehead.

She picks him up and leads him to the edge of the woods. The hovercraft appear and slowly the claw picks up the dead bodies.

Calliope carries Orville back to the camp at the Cornucopia. She covers him in a blanket. "Go to sleep," she says, stroking his hair. Soon, he's out cold.

Calliope rubs her eyes and tries to prepare herself for staying up all night. Tomorrow she'll be out of here for good, one way or another.

At around midnight, everyone around me is getting tired. Gabe fell asleep about an hour ago, and Haymitch is drifting off. Lilah and I are the only ones still awake.

"Do you think either of them will make it out of there?" I ask quietly.

She turns to me, concern in her eyes. "I don't know, honey. But I hope so."

I look at the screen. Orville lies curled in a ball under the blanket. He fidgets and whimpers in his sleep. I can't image what his mother might be thinking right now. That's why I never wanted to have kids, and I still don't. It doesn't really matter anyway. Going to the Capitol every year, I'll see him. And I can't move on when Peeta's there.

I think I must have dozed off because suddenly I am Calliope. I glance over at Orville sleeping soundly to my right and sigh. "You'll be back to your momma soon," I say. My voice is high and child-like. It's the voice of Calliope. That miniature detail reminds me that she's even younger then me but she's accepted that she will die for Orville. No matter how much I try to deny it, I know I never was that accepting of my death, otherwise Peeta might still be here today.

Slowly, as Calliope, I drift off again, only to find myself awake. I peer at the screen and realize Calliope actually is sleeping. I turn to Lilah to ask her how long Calliope has been sleeping only to find her snoozing too.

I watch the screen, determined not to fall asleep again. Eventually, the sun lights up the sky and Calliope is awoken.

I glance at the clock though and am surprised to see that it's only four thirty. The Capitol must have sped up the night. They want to see this end as much as the rest of us do.

Calliope gently shakes Orville awake. "Hey, little buddy. Time to get up. You're going to see your mama in a couple days. Do you want to go back and see-" she doesn't know her name.

"Momma! Do I get to see Lilah today too?" Orville asks hopefully.

"Yeah." Calliope smiles. "You get to see Lilah today."

At the sound of her name, Lilah wakes up. She sees Orville sitting up and talking about her and smiles. She murmurs something I can't hear.

Onscreen, Calliope bundles everything of their's up before realizing she doesn't have a reason to anymore.

She looks over at Orville and then at the sky, and before she says my name I know she's speaking directly to me. "Katniss? When I die, tell my family that I love them and I'm sorry I had to die but Orville just- he just had to live."

She turns back around then and acts as though nothing has happened.

"Orville?" She asks quietly. "Are you ready to go see Lilah?"

"Yeeeeeeesssss!" Orville says enthusiastically. Calliope grabs his hand. "Then I guess we'll just have to find Roland, won't we?" I quickly realize this must be the man from District Nine.

They don't need to. A moment later, he finds them.

He burst through the shrubs and Calliope immediately lifts her gun, pointing it at his head. Surprisingly, he doesn't flinch. He stands there, hands out in front of him.

"Shoot me," he says. "Make sure he gets out of the arena."

"I'm sorry this had to happen," Calliope says, before shooting him. He falls. Almost like an echo to the gunshot, the cannon booms.

I can't help but wonder what the Gamemakers are thinking. Everyone in the games is defying them by trying to keep this one person alive. I can only pray that he lives.

Calliope turns to Orville. "In a minute, buddy, a big ladder is going to come down from the sky. There might be someone on it. If there is, let them take you up for a plane ride. If there isn't, grab the ropes really tight and keep holding on until you're in the plane. They will take you flying. I- I'm going to take a little nap, okay? Just like Clydell and Damian. Go for the plane ride, okay?"

He nods enthusiastically. "I wuve you, Calliope," he says shakily. He gives her one last big hug.

"I love you too." She looks up at the sky again. "Katniss, don't forget to tell them I love them."

Hands quaking, she raises the gun to kill herself. The gunshot echos through the arena. Her head falls back, but she's still alive.

"Nightie night!" Orville says, planting a kiss on her cheek. "I wuve you."

She smiles faintly and then the light goes out of her eyes. The ghost of her last smile, frozen forever on her face.

A cannon booms, and trumpets blare. Claudius Templesmith's voice echoes throughout the arena. "I am pleased to present the victor of the 75th Hunger Games. I give you- Orville Symphony, the male tribute from District Five!"

A hovercraft appears. The ladder is lowered. Orville looks at Calliope, blows her a kiss, and grips the rope ladder. I see the shock on his face as the electrical current rips through him. He is lifted. A moment before he gets aboard the helicopter, something happens. The electrical current rips through him again, leaving only his strength keeping him on it. The rope ladder goes limp, and so does the hand that's holding onto it. As though in slow motion, I watch as his grip fails, and he falls off the ladder.

I avert my eyes when his body hits the ground.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)**


	17. Rebel

**A/N: You guys are amazing. Seriously.**

**Anyway, I'm back in school, so I may not be able to update some days, but I'll make up for it with a double posting the following day. As always, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**Note: My tumblr is **likesblaine **for anyone who is interested :)**

Everything is thrown into confusion. Abruptly, everyone is talking. The noise echos down the halls. Just like last time, everyone migrates into our room. Finnick, who's last in, slams the door behind him. The noise quiets all of us but Finnick.

"What the hell?" he rages, knocking over a vase. "We did all of this to keep him alive, and then just like that the Capitol kills him. They can't even do it when any of the other tributes are alive, they have to do it at the last minute, so everyone is dead!" He spits the last word out like it's a poisonous berry.

"So you think it was on purpose?" I ask. He glares at me.

"Of course it was on purpose! How ELSE would this happen? No way was it a technical glitch." His comment somehow reminds us all how to talk.

Conversation breaks out, and the noise level is slowly rising. Soon we're all yelling. Lilah alone is sitting, dumbstruck, not saying anything, staring in front of her.

"Lilah?" I have to yell to make myself heard over the noise. "Lilah?" I don't get any response. Just when I am about to resort to shaking her, the Peacekeepers burst in. There's only three, and they obviously expect us to quiet quickly. But that is not the case. Finnick, backed by four other mentors- the men from One, Two, Eight, and Seven, almost charge them. Angrily, he steps forward. The Peacekeepers cower.

"Don't you know what the hell just happened? An innocent little FIVE YEAR OLD BOY was just killed. You don't have a PROBLEM with that? Nothing? God, what the hell are you, automatons? Show a little goddamn emotion, will you?"

The Peacekeepers standing there, supposedly calm, but I can see the angry blush slowly creeping up their cheeks. Finnick continues on his rampage, only this time Haymitch has joined him. There voices mingle to form one continuous stream of swearwords and insults to the Peacekeepers.

Instead of bursting into a fury like I expected , the addition of Haymitch makes them look scared and they retreat out of the room. They shut the door but I glance through the crack at the bottom of the door and see their feet, like they are standing guard.

"I can't believe they don't even care that a little kid DIED in those Games. Why the hell didn't anyone volunteer for them?" Finnick turns to face Gabe. "Huh? Why?"

"I would have volunteered to go in again if I could! But-"

Finnick cuts him off. "Mentor's can't volunteer. I know. But what about his family?"

"His parents weren't there- his dad was on his deathbed, and his mother was granted permission to stay and take care of him. He only has a younger brother, who's two years old. There was no one in his family to volunteer for him. And everyone else was too terrified."

"They should have been," the female mentor from Six says. I only recognize her by the way she's clutching the other mentor from Six's hand. "Every single person died."

"Everyone," the female mentor from Three, who I only know by her face, says hollowly. "The only games where there wasn't a victor."

We sit there for a moment, our anger towards the Peacekeepers fading.

"We can't let this go. Not only did they promise glory and riches for competition, and thats why some volunteered," I glanced at the District One and Two mentors- "but they brutally murdered 24 people- including an eleven year old, a fourteen year old, and worse, a five year old AFTER victory. Usually, it's barbaric, deathly, cruel, and vicious. This year, it was ten times worse." I think to myself.

"Katniss is right." Gabe agrees, and I realize I spoke aloud. "The Capitol thinks just because they are the Capitol, they can get away with anything. Who knows? That might not be true for much longer."

We quiet, everyone lost in their own imaginations. I am reminded of the many conversations I had with Gale, the thoughts of running away, escaping. Living in the woods. But just like this, we both knew it never would happen.

Someone knocks again, and when I open the door, I find the Peacekeepers have gone, and Effie Trinket is in their place.

"Effie?" I ask. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I didn't think there'd be such a crowd," she says, stepping into the room. "Since there's no victor, tonight instead the Capitol will explain the accident with the force field, and apologize to the boy's family. I came to take you and Haymitch to get ready," she says, daintily stepping over a broken liquor bottle on the floor. She turns to the other tributes. "Everyone has been looking for you. Go back to your own rooms now." She ushers them out of the room. "Come on, you guys," she says without looking back.

She leads us upstairs, where the stylists are waiting.

"Cinna!" I exclaim. "Portia! What are you doing here?"

"Well," Portia says. "Since we don't have the tributes to makeover anymore, we get to do you guys."

They bring out the prep teams and this time I'm not surprised to see Venia, Octavia, and Flavius as well as Peeta's old prep team.

"Oh Katniss!" Octavia sobs, the moment I sit down. "It's so depressing! Everyone! Gone! Oh!" She has to excuse herself for a moment to calm down before she can come back and work on my nails.

They finish and I wonder what angle they're going for. My nails are black, and they've pulled my hair up into an elegant, but simple, bun. They simply erased my flaws, instead of enhancing them. I wear only a light lip gloss, natural eye makeup, and normal blush.

Cinna comes in, glances at me, and nods at the prep team. I close my eyes as he pulls a dress out of the black garment bag. He slips it over my head and I am immediately struck by how light it is. It seems as though I am wearing nothing more then a layer of soft cotton.

I open my eyes and and surprised once again by what I see in the mirror. He has made me as invisible as I can be as the Girl on Fire. I wear a dress similar to embers. It's black like ashes, and here and there are glowing spots, like hot coals. Combined with the plain makeup, I am more like the Girl of Embers then the Girl on Fire.

I turn to Cinna in confusion, who understands immediately the look on my face. "You need to be as obscure as possible."

I nod, even though I don't fully understand what he means. Blending in the background would be completely different from my current image as the Girl on Fire. Fire stands out.

He gives me one more look over, then mutters something to himself. I don't bother to ask what he said.

Effie comes up behind us. "Knock knock knock," she says in a singsong voice, even though she has no reason to knock. "We're heading out in a couple minutes. Come over here so you can walk in with Haymitch."

I nod and follow her to where Haymitch waits uncomfortably in a dark black suit and fire-colored tie. He opens his mouth and licks his teeth. That's when I notice they have covered his his yellowed teeth with a sort of denture made of gelatin. I really look at him and notice they have also powered his face until it's almost white and slicked his hair back with a heavy gel that's red colored, to make it look like Caesar Flickerman's. I wonder if most of the men's hair is like that.

We head to an odd corner of the stage and wait behind a thick purple curtain. I hear Caesar calling all the Districts. I wait impatiently behind the velvet as he says hello to District Eleven. Finally he gets to us.

"May I welcome, District Twelve!" As I walk out, I notice there is no audience, only cameras.

"Hello Haymitch! And hello Katniss," he says, shaking each of our hands in turn. He gestures to a long line of chairs, each of them similar to the ones the victors sit in each year.

"So," he says, going up to the District One mentors. "Can you please tell us how you feel about this accident?"

"Well, we're devastated not only about the lack of a victor, but the death of little Orville, and-"

And so it goes. Caesar goes up to each District and asks them a question about the 'terrible accident'. I nervously await my turn to talk to Caesar. When he gets to Twelve, I begin to think he is going to repeat a question when he says, "So, Katniss, what would you say to those people who think this was not an accident?"

I am completely stunned, mainly that he would acknowledge the fact some people don't think it was an accident.

"Life is fleeting, and you never know what will happen," I say, trying to avoid completely answering the question. Luckily, Caesar accepts my answer and turns to Haymitch.

"And you Haymitch?"

"You don't want to know what I think."

"But we do!" Caesar insists.

"I think... who knows? It might just start a rebellion."

Caesar smiles nervously and turns to the camera. "Well, thanks for watching and we'll see you soon!" He quickly signs off.

We are quickly ushered back to our old quarters. I head to the dining room, where Haymitch joins me.

"What- what did you just do?" I ask after a moment of silence.

"I think- I think I just helped start a rebellion."

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)**


	18. Video

**A/N: ALMOST TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND HITS!  
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**I love you guys, really. Anyway, this story is almost complete! Gasp! Three to four more chapters, and then I'll be posting the link to the following story. As always, enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**Note: My tumblr is **likesblaine **for anyone who is interested :)**

Eventually, Effie arrives, but when she does she is alone.

"Thanks to your little stunt on the television last night," she says, glaring at Haymitch, "everyone has agreed to get the trains ready to take everyone back to their Districts by tomorrow morning. I'll wake you up when it's time to go, but for now go to bed."

I nod, but when I get to my room I know I'm not getting to bed easily. I brush my teeth and shower, but even after that I am still not the slightest bit tired. I decide to go to the kitchen for hot chocolate. Only when I get there do I realize my feet have instead led me to the basement. I go to the cots in the District Twelve room, looking for what I don't quite know. I eventually grab the half empty bottle of liquor for Haymitch, but it's only when I'm almost upstairs that I realize I was hoping to see Gale again.

I knock on Haymitch's door but there is no answer. I press my ear against the door and hear snoring. Silently I open the door and set the bottle on the table, then realize Haymitch is such a heavy sleeper he wouldn't be able to hear me anyway. But when I step on a broken plate lying on the floor, he immediately its up. "Who's there?" Trying to avoid explaining myself, I quietly creep back and shut the door behind me. I race down the hall, turning the corner just as his door opens.

I can't get to sleep all night. I lie in my bed, looking out the large window on the wall, staring at first the dark and starry sky, and then the sunrise.

Finally, once the sun has risen in the sky, I get up, shower, and get dressed. Even going directly to the dining hall, Effie is waiting.

"Katniss, I was just about to go wake you," she says, and I notice Haymitch sitting beside her. I assumed after the late- night delivery of alcohol he would be drunk. But instead, he appears completely sober.

"We're boarding the train in twenty minutes. Say goodbye to all the mentors and I'll meet you down there." We both nod, but after she leaves we just sit there, doing nothing.

Eventually, fifteen minutes pass and we make our way downstairs. We spot Effie next to a tribute train, but on our way over we are stopped by Finnick and Mags.

"We didn't have a chance to say good-bye to you," Finnick says.

I nod, but don't say anything. When he refuses to move, I say, "Well, erm, goodbye then." Still he refuses to budge.

Haymitch gives Finnick a hug, which seems strange to me. Mags hobbles forward to give me a kiss on the cheek, and I nod at Finnick.

"Oh come on, Katniss," he laughs. "Is that all I get?" He pulls me forward and before I can stop him he kisses me full on the mouth.

Lights flash and I quickly push Finnick away. He wiggles his eyebrows. "Something wrong, honey?" I just shake my head and turn away. I run towards the train but halfway there I am stopped once again by Lilah, Gabe a few feet behind her.

"Katniss," she says. "I hope you have a good time in District 12." She hugs me, not noticing the almost frantic look on my face. Gabe stares at me intently as she releases me. I widen my eyes and, barely discernible, he nods.

I nod at him, and Lilah thinks I'm saying goodbye. He nods back and I turn to find Effie frantically waving at me. "Katniss!" sdhe yells. "The train is leaving!" I turn one last time to Lilah. "You better get on your train," I say.

"One last thing," she says as Gabe hurries to make sure the conductor waits.

"What?" I ask impatiently.

"He'd be lucky to have you. Make sure you tell Gale that." Before I can ask her how she knew about that, she's taken off.

In a daze, I head back towards the train. It's only when I reach the doors that I remember Haymitch.

"Effie!" I say. "Haymitch!"

She turns to me, her expression frozen in surprise. "Shit," she says. It's the first time I've ever heard her swear.

She runs to the top. "Stop the train!" she yells just as it takes off. "Stop!"

"Why are we stopping?" A groggy voice asks. I turn to find Haymitch standing in the middle of the hallway, a bottle of liquor in his hand.

"We were waiting for you!" I say angrily. "Effie! Effie!" I call towards the front. "I have him!"

"Oh thank god," she says, hurrying back towards us, her face flushed.

Suddenly, I remember what Lilah said. "HAYMITCH!" I yell suddenly, jumping up from my seat.

"What? Whas' going on?" he says, clearly flustered.

"You told Lilah about Gale!" I say angrily.

"No I didn't! Wait, she knows about Gale?"

"Of course!"

"I didn't tell her!"

"Then who did?"

He's silent. "I don't know. But I've been sober practically the entire week; I would have remembered telling her."

I sigh and sit down.

"Wait- what did she say to you about him?"

"She said 'He'd be lucky to have you. Make sure you tell Gale that.' And then she took off before I could ask her anything."

"Then it sounds like she knew about your fight."

"Wait- how did you know about that?" I ask, suspicious.

"I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but even when I'm drunk I'm not stupid."

I head back to my room, sitting stonily on the bed, staring out the window. I skip dinner, going to bed early instead.

I wake up in the middle of the night with my stomach grumbling. I sneak down to the dining room where an Avox is waiting.

"Can I have some rolls and hot chocolate?" I ask, barely restraining myself from adding a "Please." He nods and hurries away to the kitchen.

I sit down at the dinning room table. The Avox quickly reappears with my drink and food. I nod at him and he takes off quickly to the kitchen again.

As I don't feel the least bit tired, since I went to bed so early, I take my meal to the couch where I find a box of tapes sitting on the coffee table. I set down my mug and pick one up. Labeled with each year, they're a box of all the Hunger Games, on tape for anyone to watch.

Since I have now seen two of the three Quarter Quell's, I decide to watch the Twenty Fifth Hunger Games, the one where each District was forced to choose their participants.

Watching the reapings, I can tell the Districts were torn between choosing the strongest people and the weakest ones, simply because they knew whoever they put in there wasn't going to survive anyway. In One, Two, and Four, of course, it doesn't matter. Every single tribute is a volunteer. Still, it must be odd to know you are the person most of the people in your District thought should go into the Hunger Games. The worst part is making them choose both, because they know at least one of them is going to die.

I watch as the strongest tributes are chosen for One and Two, yet they are still replaced with volunteers. In Three, they choose an eighteen year old boy who seems like, for once, he could win- but they also chose a fourteen year old girl who's dying of pneumonia. I wonder what the Capitol would have done if she died before the Games.

Like One and Two, Four chooses two extremely strong tributes, only to have them replaced by weaker ones. In Five through Nine they choose comparatively weak tributes, although you can tell that, for that District, they're very strong. Ten, Eleven, and Twelve, however, choose what seem to be the weakest. I know before the chariot rides that this time none of them will win.

The riders on the chariots are dressed in their usual costumes, which means the District Twelve tributes are stark naked and covered in coal dust. Remembering another year in which they did that, I wonder which horrendous designer could possibly be responsible for this.

Surprisingly, on the night of the interviews, after training, I notice the girl from Three looks different. Instead of sickly with short brown hair she looks radiant with long golden locks. Cesar is absent- a man named Royce Gabbana is in his place. He comments on it and she giggles and says she had a makeover. I can't help but wonder, though, if the Capitol replaced her with someone else- someone supposed to be killed, or someone who was supposed to be an Avox, but they haven't cut her tongue out yet.

I ignore it and continue watching. Despite the fact that the majority of them are weak and sickly, most of the tributes manage to be average for the Capitol, and and a few are even charming.

The interviews end like they always do. The screen devotes itself completely to the Capitol anthem, not even showing the tributes. Slowly the symbol fades into the black backdrop, which then fades into the arena. The twelve golden plates glimmering in the sun give off a glow that is enhanced by the gold Cornucopia.

Slowly a creaking noise penetrates the arena, sending the animals fleeing to the trees. The plates rise slowly, terrified tributes perched on them.

Royce Gabbana's voice echoes through the arena.

"Let the 25th Hunger Games begin!"

Not being a part of the Games, I realize how much shorter the sixty seconds seem. It's almost as though I barely have time to register the mountain and meadow before the gong rings out and the tributes are racing off the plates. The Careers are at the mouth before Eleven and Twelve are even off their plates.

A few of the stronger tributes have time to grab a few things before dashing towards the nearby mountain, darting through the field to get there. The Careers lash out against the weak ones that remain. Eleven and Twelve die before they reach the meadow, all killed by the girl from Two. The other Careers take their time chasing down the others, killing each one by one.

Just when I thought the death spree was over, One and Two gang up on District Four. In a moment they're dead too.

You can see the remaining Careers studying each other. Eventually they just walk away from each other, and the cannons begin to boom.

Seventeen shots. _Seventeen _shots are fired. Seventeen people were killed.

That means only three tributes escaped to the mountain. And the Careers can clearly see their opportunity. They immediately grab some gear and head out to chase them.

Followed by the cameras, they set out to follow them. The Careers have soon caught up to the slowest tribute, and she's dead before she can cry out. Despite their efforts, they can't find the second or third escapees. They camp under the trees. That night the faces of the dead tributes shone in the full moonlight. All eighteen of them. The commentators are at a loss for words. Their only comments are that this breaks all records is sick. And the fact that they count it as a competition for records is even worse.

It doesn't bother to show the first half and the night in the video. Almost as though they are fast forwarding, it jerks forward to midnight. The Careers lay slumbering, their lookout asleep against a tree.

A pair of glittering amber eyes glimmer in the darkness. Slowly, guided by the light of the glowing embers, one of the escaped tributes edges forward from behind the trees. I am wondering how she will kill them when her foot breaks a twig. She freezes, but nothing happens. One of the Careers simply snorts and rolls over in his sleep. She carefully pulls a bow and a sheath of arrows from behind her. She aims and even before she lets the arrow fly I know it will miss.

It sails over the bush and lands with a crinkle in a pile of leaves. Grimacing she tries again- she has only three arrows left.

The next one hits home. Piercing the Career through the main vein in the neck, he wakes for a moment and gurgles, choking on his blood, before his head falls back.

She carefully loads her next arrow. She aims it at the nearest Career and this time pierces him through the eye. He dies almost instantly.

Loading her last arrow, she steps out from behind the trees. Just as she is about to let loose, a crunch of leaves jerks the bow around, the arrow missing it's target completely.

She almost swears before realizing where she was and clamping her hand over her mouth to keep any noise from escaping.

Reluctantly she pulls a knife from a backpack on the ground. Creeping forward lightly, she waits until she is directly above him. She slashes his throat in a swift movement, then moves over to the last person, and admittedly the strongest; the male from District One. A rock suddenly clanks against something else. The cameras zero in on the other escaped girl, hiding behind the bushes. The Career wakes suddenly, snatching the sword off the ground. He slashes at her arm, but the knife is buried up to it's hilt in his chest.

He takes a moment to glance down in confusion at his chest before he dies.

As though she knows it's her last chance, the girl behind the bushes lunges out holding nothing but a stone. Taken by surprise, the killer races off to snatch the sword the boy dropped when he died. She holds it up in defense. Dropping the rock, the cowerer holds her hand up, fear in her eyes.

The killer stabs and she falls. The cannons from all four dead tributes boom, followed closely by the music of trumpets.

"I am pleased to present the female tribute of District Five. I give you- Aretha Goldstine!"

The hovercraft appears, dropping the electric-charged silver ladder. She almost bounds over, gripping her cut arm.

The moment she gets in the helicopter, the video skips forward roughly to the victor ceremony. Since she was only in the arena for half a day, you can't really see the change in her. The only difference is the long white scar on her arm.

They omit the playback of the games, as we have been watching a similar one now. Then it shows her back in District Five, grinning widely, being welcomed back by a horde of family and friends.

The screen goes black. I sigh, tilting my cup up to finish the last dregs of my drink. Then I head back to my room.

I don't sleep. I lay in bed, watching the 25th Games over and over again in my mind.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)**


	19. Loved

**A/N: I love you guys. Seriously. No notes for this :) Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**Note: My tumblr is **likesblaine **for anyone who is interested :)**

At some point I must have dozed off, because I wake up in the morning to the sound of the train's whistle and Effie banging on my door.

"Katniss! Get up! It's almost noon! We're almost to District Twelve!" Then I hear her footsteps hurrying away, no doubt to wake up Haymitch.

I groan, sitting up blearily. My dream from last night runs through my mind. Gale and I are walking through the woods and for some reason Prim is by my side, and Rory, Vick, and Posy are walking along next to him. A Peacekeeper suddenly lunges out and shoots Gale in the heart. He falls, and Posy and Prim scream. Vick and Rory hurry to patch up his wound. I shoot the Peacekeeper then drop to my knees. But he's dead.

I shake my head, coming back to reality. I glance at the clock, and sure enough, it's noon. _Noon. _ For a second I wonder why I slept in before I remember I stayed up late watching the 25th Games.

I shower and dress quickly, running to the kitchen to grab something to eat.

Haymitch lumbers in, obviously un-showered. But at least he's wearing something resembling a victor's outfit. He grabs a muffin, taking a huge bite out of it, ignoring the paper wrapper clinging to his teeth.

"We better hurry up if we're going to make it to the Capitol on time for the Games." My first thought is that he is delusional. My second is that he is insane. "Where are Damian and Calliope?"

Theres names bring back memories that make me catch my breath. He doesn't seem to understand what he's said. "Where are they?" he repeats, and this time Effie bursts into tears.

"What?" he asks, almost angrily this time. "Where are they? Tell me _now."_

"They're dead," I choke out. My throat seems to be tightening so I can barely breath. I can't understand why. I have seen plenty of people die before. Of an illness, or of starvation. Even in the Games. Thresh. Rue. Peeta.

Effie runs, sobbing, from the room. Haymitch stares blankly after her. It's the first time I notice his mouth is slightly open, and his eyes are bloodshot. I sigh. He's not insane. He's _drunk. _ Though I don't know how to break a drunk from a delusional stupor.

Trying my old trick, I grab a pitcher and dump it's contents over him. But instead of water, a sticky amber liquid explodes onto him.

"What? _Tea! _Just tell me where Calliope and Damian are!"

I sigh, and guide him to his shower.

"Shower first," I say.

Five minutes later, he's out and sopping wet.

"Now go back to bed," I say, holding out on the hope he's sleep walking.

"I'm not tired!" he says angrily.

"Fine. Calliope and Damian are..."

I cut myself off. His eyes have suddenly cleared of the haze from alcohol, but there retain a strange glimmer not at all belonging to Haymitch. He laughs eerily. "I know they're dead Katniss."

"Then why did you pretend they weren't! You made Effie cry!"

He laughs again, leaning in close to me. "I like to tease Effie," he says, his hot breath in my face.

I crinkle my nose and shove him away. "I know that. But why?"

"Wanna know a secret?" he whispers hotly in my ear. Before I can reply, he says, "I'm in _love _with her." He pulls back, laughing.

"What?" I say, sure I heard wrong.

"I'm in love with her!" He says. "I'm in LOVE with her!"

"With who?" Effie asks sharply, reentering the room.

"Y-" I desperately push him to the ground.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" he says angrily, pushing himself up.

"We- we need to go. Bye Effie!"

I drag him by the hand to his room, locking the door behind us.

"I was about to tell Effie I was in _love with her,_" he whispers the last three words and then laughs again.

I sigh, going over to the room menu. "Can I get a drink with sleeping powder in it?" I ask. A minute later a neon green beverage appears.

"Haymitch," I say, turning around. He's standing at the door, a befuddled expression on his face.

"Can't- get-the-damn-door-the-open!" he shouts, his face beet red. He keeps turning the knob, and pushing and pulling the door, but the lock prevents it from opening.

I walk over to him. "Here Haymitch. This will help you open the door."

His face lights up. "Really?" He snatches it from me and gulps it down. "I can feel the power, the strength pulsing through my veins!" Then he falls over and starts snoring.

I sigh and throw a blanket under him, and prop a pillow under his head.

Glancing at the clock, I notice we only have an hour and a half until we get back to District Twelve. I pray the sleeping powder works fast.

I wait in my room, partially so I can hear when he wakes up and partially so I won't have to face Effie.

Twenty minutes before we are due to reach District Twelve, Haymitch wakes up. I hear him huffing, trying to open the door again. My heart sinks. I head to the room and am about to open the door when it swings open.

"Why was I asleep on the floor?" he asks groggily. His eyes are still bloodshot, but I don't think he's still drunk. "Oh, I have the worst hangover ever."

I sigh. "We arrive in District Twelve in fifteen minutes. Hurry up and get ready."

He glances down at himself. "Why? I'm dressed."

I sigh again. "Just put your clothes on. Your _good clothes _on."

He turn around and starts stripping down. Uncomfortably, I avert my eyes.

"Done," he says, just when I am debating whether or not to leave the room. I check the wall clock, and just as I come to the conclusion we should be stopping, the train starts to slow down.

"Not a moment too soon either. We better find Effie." I half expect him to sink back into his drunk mode, but he just nods.

"Okay," he says.

Effie is waiting in the dinning room. Her eyes are red and puffy, and her voice is tight when she says, "Ready? I'll go first, then you two."

As she leads us towards the door Haymitch leans over and whispers, "What happened?" I simply shake my head and speed up so I can catch up with Effie.

A Capitol attendant waits by the door. He nods as Effie approaches and opens the door. A second later I follow.

I don't know what I expected. Probably something similar to last year, although I never came to see the mentors returning before.

The train station is deathly silent. The only people waiting are the camera crews and Prim and my mother. Even the families of the dead tributes have stayed home. Which means Gale has too.

I sigh, and walk up to my mother. "Hello," she says softly. "We missed you."

Prim has a small, sad smile on her face. She gives me a tight hug. "All of us. Every single one." This time it's obvious who's she is talking about.

I try to smile but can't quite manage it. Leaning in close, I whisper, "Did he see it happen?"

Her grave face tells me everything. But she just says, "Later," and pastes the happy smile on her face again.

"Let's go home," my mother says. She wraps her arm around my shoulders, and I grab Prim's hand. I can hear Haymitch's footsteps, following us towards Victor's Village. We pass by the bakery, and I can see the eighteen year old boy behind the counter. His eyes are red and puffy. As I pass, I can see him staring at me. _I have a boyfriend. Jacan._ I can almost hear Calliope saying it. I meet his eyes for a moment before he looks away as his mother walks in the room. I stop to stare at her. My mother follows my gaze. Mrs. Mellark narrows her eyes and holds up her middle finger.

It's clear she holds me responsible not only for her son's death but for the death of her oldest son's girlfriend.

When I turn away, my mother's eyes are on me. "Are you okay, Katniss?" I nod, but it's clear in her expression she doesn't believe me.

She re-wraps her arm around me, sandwiching Prim between us. I don't look in any of the other shops. Soon we make it to the Seam. The shut curtains and plain gray and brown houses comfort me. When we finally make it to Victor's Village, the sun has begun to hurt my eyes. The days underground have taken a toll on me, and all I can think of is getting inside where it's dark.

I open the door and mercifully the lights are off. I can feel the burn behind my eyes slowly begin to fade away.

My mother leads me to the sitting room, where the only source of light is a small window on the southernmost wall. I avert my eyes.

"Katniss," she says, sitting down opposite me. "What happened?"

I want to start crying, and clench my fists to keep myself together. Prim sits next to me on the couch, laying a hand on my knee. "Katniss?"

"Calliope- Calliope was her son's girlfriend."

"Pe- Which one?" Prim asks carefully.

"The oldest, Jacan. And she still blames me for Pe-" I have to choke the word out. "Peeta's death."

Prim sighs, her small voice full of sadness.

"What about Gale?"

"He saw everything," she says.

"How do you know?" I ask desperately.

"Rory told me."

"What did he-"

"When Damian died he- he started crying, Rory said. But when you kissed Finnick he- he freaked out, smashed a glass against the wall, and stormed out."

I put my head in my hands. How had I messed so much up?

"Katniss- why did you kiss Finnick?"

"I didn't! He just came up to me and kissed me full on the mouth! I don't know why!"

"We all- well, except Gale- we thought it seemed staged. Like the Capitol made you do it."

"Maybe they told him to, Prim, but I had no reason to kiss him, real or not," I say bitterly.

"What- what are you going to do?" My mother speaks up.

"I- I don't know!" I feel hot tears pricking the back of my eyes, but I am determined not to cry. I dig my nails deeper into my palm, drawing blood.

"Katniss," Prim says gently, uncurling my tight fists.

I stand up abruptly. "I have to go."

"Why?"

"I know where Gale is."

I dash to the woods, only stopping to grab my bow and sheath of arrows as protection. I hurry to the place I originally explained the Capitol to him, and am disappointed to find it empty. Suddenly, I hear a voice.

"Catnip. What are you doing here?" The voice comes from above me. I frantically tip my head up, searching for Gale. I finally find him in the tree directly above me.

"Gale," I say. "Posy is worried about you."

It is a low blow, and not entirely true, but it works. A frown finds it's way onto his face. "Posy? But-"

"She thinks you ran away."

I have no idea if it is actually true or not, but I need him to get home.

"I didn't, though. I could never leave them!"

"Gale, come down." His face hardens.

"No."

"Why are you mad at me?" I ask desperately.

"Oh, I wonder why." He says sarcastically.

"Is it because Damian is dead?"

"No! I could deal with that! You had to let the little boy win, I understand that! What I do not understand is why you _kissed Finnick_!"

Instead of defending myself, I get mad. "Oh because I had no right to do that! You kissed Madge, Gale! But I can't kiss anyone else because I'm supposed to be faithful because I'm the girl, right? You can kiss whoever you want and I'm supposed to stay home and do the cooking and take care of the kids-" He cuts me off mid rant.

"That's not it! I kissed Madge because I was mad at you!"

"And I was mad at you, Gale! You kissed Madge, and I thought..."

"You thought what?" he says, his tone of voice still sarcastic.

"I thought you- you loved me!" I can't believe I just spoke the words aloud. I clamp my hand over my mouth in an attempt to shove them back in, but it's no use. His eyes are wide.

"What?"

"You heard me. And before you go yelling again- you should know. I didn't kiss Finnick. The Capitol told him he needed to kiss me. Goodbye, Gale."

I turn and walk away. "Katniss!" he calls after me, but all I do is start running. The tears waiting to pour down my cheeks all day finally do, and they blur my vision. I stuff my bow and arrows in the hollow log, creeping beneath the fence. The tears are streaming down my face, and I can barely see. I can still hear Gale behind me, calling my name. I run faster.

When I make it to my house, I lock the door behind me, hurrying to the back one to lock it to. Then I hurry up to my room, not surprised to see Prim waiting. Instead of talking, she just opens her arms, and I fall in them, crying like a child.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)**


	20. Uncle

**A/N: YAY! Update! Three-four more chapters! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**Note: My tumblr is **likesblaine **for anyone who is interested :)**

When I finally stop crying, Prim's clothes are soaked.

"I'm-" She cuts me off.

"It's okay Katniss." For the first time, I notice the real sadness in her eyes.

"Prim, what happened?"

"What? Nothing."

"Don't lie Prim. What happened?"

"I had a fight with Rory," she sighs.

"Why?"

"Well, he said it was all your fault first for not forgiving Gale when he apologized but then for kissing Finnick. And I said it was Gale's fault because he assumed you poisoned Posy and then because he kissed Madge to spite you. And Rory got mad and said it wasn't worth talking to me until I saw sense. I and told him he might as well talk to me now because I already was and he said he- he never wanted to see me again, then." Tears are welling up in her eyes.

"Prim," I say with a sigh. "Come here."

She cries on my shoulder. "And the worst part," she sobs, "Is that he'll never understand until Gale tells him he's wrong and that's never going to happen!"

"You know what Prim? I'm going to make it happen."

She doesn't respond, clearly not believing me, but I just let her cry. When she's done crying, she's asleep. I gently lay her back on the pillows, fully intending to go see Gale. But my feet lead me towards the woods. When I go to grab my bow and arrows, though, they're missing. Hot, red, anger takes over my body. Half of me is screaming to go see Gale to yell at him and the other half wants to ignore him. But a tiny voice reminds me I came for Prim. Angrily, I stride towards Gale's house.

Knocking loudly, Gale answers in a moment. At first the looks angry, until he sees it is me.

"Katniss!"

"Give me my bow," I say flatly.

"Not until you talk to me."

"Gale Hawthorne you give me my bow right now or I swear, I'll-"

"You'll what?" His sarcastic tone reminds me of Haymitch. Before I know what I've done, I've slapped him across the face. An angry red mark stings his left cheek. But for some reason, I don't feel remorse.

"Give me my bow _now_."

He looks hurt, but an angry look is coming into his eyes. "Fine." He pulls it out from behind the cabinet. "But before you storm off- we need to fix this."

"I agree. Prim is ripped up because Rory got mad at her because of us."

"What?" His face clearly displays he had no idea what happened."You better come in." He offers me a seat at the table, which I take reluctantly.

"Rory told Prim it was all my fault that we were having problems, and if I had forgiven you for kissing Madge or not kissed Finnick, we'd be fine. And Prim told him this all started with you assuming I poisoned Posy and then kissing Madge because of that assumption."

"Shit."

"Yeah. And Prim's sitting alone here, my mother oblivious, heartbroken."

"Shit. Rory-"

"Rory is probably feeling the same way."

"Okay, so it was all my fault. I get that, but Rory doesn't. I'll have to explain to him everything-"

"But make sure he keeps the staged thing a secret," I say.

"Why?" he says.

"Because I'm not supposed to know," I say.

"Okay," he says.

I stand up to leave. "Katniss- before you go- you should know- I did love you."

I notice the past tense, and smile sadly. "Too bad it wasn't enough."

This time, I leave before he can protest. And he doesn't follow me. And this time, I don't cry. I go home, and lay down with Prim, hoping everything will be fixed in the morning.

When I wake up, the other side of the bed is empty. I hear talking downstairs, and find Prim standing with my mother in the kitchen, glowing. An enormous bouquet of roses is in the middle of the table.

"Look!" Prim says, a happy smile on her face. " Rory brought them!"

"Where did he get these?"

"He picked them! They're primroses!"

I manage a smile. "That's great Prim."

She beams happily. "I'm going to go get some more water for these." She dashes out the door, forgetting we have running water now.

I decide, since I have nothing to do, to head over to Haymitch's house. Of course, he's out cold on the kitchen floor.

Sighing, I fill a pitcher with cold tap water and dump it all over him. He wakes with a splutter.

"Katniss," he says simply, instead of his usual ' What the hell!'

Haymitch blinks and opens his eyes. "What the hell! Who's there?"

"Haymitch! It's me! You know that! You said my name!" I say in annoyed confusion.

"He didn't," the voice I assumed was Haymitch's says from behind me. "I did."

For some reason, I expect Gale, even though I know his voice, and this is not it. So when the ginger haired, green eyed man steps into the light, I am surprised. After staring at him for a moment I realize something.

"You- you look just like my dad."

He stares at me, not responding. Finally he says, "That's because I'm his brother."

"Wait. Carl came to visit you?" My mother's tone is incredulous. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Apparently, he was coming to visit Haymitch. Mother. Why does he look like he's from the Capitol?"

"Didn't he explain this all to you?"

"No! He said he was my uncle, turned to Haymitch and said, ' I'll come by later' and left! And I couldn't ask Haymitch because he knocked his head on the floor and fell asleep."

My mother looks worried. "I should probably go see how he is..."

"Mother! No more stalling! Who is he?"

"Well... you better sit down."

"No," I say stubbornly. "I prefer to stand, thank you."

She just shakes her head. "Okay. Well- your father- his mother was from the Capitol. But she was part of a rebellious group and they threatened to cut out her throat. She was pregnant at the time. She fled from the Capitol, leaving her husband behind. She came here, dyed her hair, and tried to fit in.

"Your grandfather fell in love with her. Only a month after she arrived here, she gave birth to her child. She named him Carl."

"Your grandmother soon found out she was pregnant again, this time with your grandfather's child. They married soon after."

"Nine months later, again she gave birth- this time to twins. Your father, of course, was one and the other was your Aunt Rosanne before she died.

"When the twins were four and Carl was six, their mother moved back to the Capitol, as she had received a pardon. Since both of the twins looked like they were from Twelve, and the people only knew she had one child, she left and took Carl with her. We lied when we told you she died. She re-married her husband, and found out she was once again pregnant. When the child was born, she was terrified to learn that your grandfather had impregnated her, not her husband. He looked of Twelve. She killed herself and her child to get rid of the terrible blood.

"Your grandfather raised the twins on his own, hoping one day his love would return. She never did. We only found out what had actually happened a few weeks before his death. That was probably a contributing factor to his heart attack. And when your Aunt Rosanne died when she was twenty, not even the thought of seeing his first grandchild in a few months could keep him from dying of a broken heart. "

I stare at my mother, dumbfounded. "So Dad-"

"Had not only a twin, but an older brother. Your grandfather told your father this on his deathbed. For your safety, we kept it a secret."

"I-I..." I can't make my mouth form any words. I stand up, backing away from my mother as if she is poisonous.

"Katniss," she pleads. "Please."

"How could you keep this from me?" I finally find myself able to speak.

"It was to keep you safe!"

"But after last year! You should have told me!"

"Katniss! It was all for your own good! Everything!"

"No. It wasn't. It was for _your own good." _I turn and flee before she can respond. Only once I have made it to the hollow log do I think that I have been storming off far too often.

I hunt. I manage to shoot two squirrels and a fat rabbit. Out of habit, I go to the Hob to sell my kills. I see Greasy Sae and Darius talking.

"Darius! Greasy Sae!" I call. Their heads whip towards me, and I hurry towards them.

"Beef and katniss tuber soup?" Greasy Sae asks, a grin on her face. I smile back.

"Thanks, but I think I'll refrain from eating myself."

"Now, Katniss, you never had a problem with it before," Greasy Sae says sternly, the grin on her face growing.

"Fine. I'll take a bowl." I hold out the meat. "You willing to trade?"

She hands me a bowl of soup and takes the animals, running her hands over them, checking them.

"A bowl for all?" she asks incredulously.

"No. Is there anything else you can trade?"

"Let me check." She disappears behind her stall, returning a moment later with two chunks of paraffin and a bottle of white liquor clutched in her fists. Her eyes twinkle. "Which one do you want?"

"Now," Darius says, laying a hand on my shoulder, smiling. "Can you sell liquor to a minor without her parent's consent? No."

"It's for Haymitch, you goose," she says, playfully swatting him on the arm.

"I'll take the liquor," I say, deciding it will be good to stock up in case there is a shortage.

"Fine. But I expect you to pay me for the soup!" I drop a coin and my bowl on the table, taking the liquor. "I have to go. I'll be back soon!"

"I expect to see you then. Oh- and you best bring Gale with you next time!" she calls after me as I walk away. Abruptly, my happiness vanishes.

I am about to return home when I hear the coins jangling in my pockets. I am going to do my usual- shove some under each door I come across until I don't have any left- before I decide to go to Gale's house. I leave most of the coins under the door but sneak around to Posy and Hazelle's bedroom. I leave a coin on the windowsill. Then I sneak home and creep up the stairs, shutting the shades and collapsing on my bed, falling into a deep dreamless sleep.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)**


	21. Boyfriend

**A/N: This is almost done! :( But then there is the sequel! (Shameless self-promotion warning) I also have another story I'm working on right now called _Just Be A Queen _that I'm writing for the glee fanfiction so if you want check that out! Definitely don't feel obligated to, though! As always enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**Note: My tumblr is **likesblaine **for anyone who is interested :)**

**Note 2: READ THIS! Levi is Katniss' father :)**

When I wake, the birds are chirping. I lay in bed for a moment, just listening to the sound of the mockingjay calls, rapidly altered by passing pedestrians. Eventually, driven by hunger, I head to the kitchen, grabbing a few cheese rolls and a bowl of stew. The cold stew sticks in my throat.

There is a knock on the door. For some reason I expect it to be Gale with Posy but instead it's Rory, who is holding Prim's hand.

Prim is laughing at something Rory are both wearing dandelion crowns. The look in her eyes reminds me of the way my mother looked at my father, or how Gale used to look at me.

Prim giggles when she sees me. "I lost my key. Sorry!" I force a smile on my face, determined not to bring her down when she is so happy.

Prim stands in the doorway and Rory gives her a sweet kiss on the cheek. She beams, and he smiles one more time before nodding at her crown. "Remember- you'll always be my queen." The look in her eyes is so powerful I have to look away.

Prim eventually shuts the door and grabs an apple out of the cupboard. She bites into it, smiling again at the sound of the crunch.

"I take it you had a good morning?" My voice cracks on good, and I mentally curse myself.

"Yes. For two reasons."

"What?"

"Well, first Rory came and took me for a walk. We got talking and realized you and Gale were both torn up about whatever happened between you. Which brings me to the second thing."

"What?" I repeat, apprehensively.

"You are meeting Gale in the woods at seven and I will take you."

"What makes you think Gale will come?" I ask, grasping at straws.

"Oh he'll come. Have you noticed that whenever you have one of your big arguments you are always the one who storms off angrily, and never wants to see him again? And this time, you are listening to him. And this time, they're are consequences if you don't."

Knowing it is pointless to argue with her, I nod.

Prim leaves at nine and there is no sign of my mother. I go up to my room. At around four I hear voices. Creeping down the stairs I see my mother sitting with Carl on the couch. I can hear their conversation.

"I told Katniss everything."

"We agreed-"

"We agreed through your letters that we wouldn't tell her until she was old enough. I did. We agreed that all the way back when I was pregnant, and I think she is old enough."

"I came back because-"

"Why?"

"I saw her in the arena. She looked so much like her father. And like her Aunt Rosanne. I knew- there were some wrongs I had to make right. You know it wasn't my choice to go to the Capitol. My mother took me. And then she died of a broken heart- or at least that's what I thought she died of- and I wanted to be sent back here. But my real father got me, and I haven't been able to come back inconspicuously until now. It wasn't the right time."

"And Rosanne and Levi's funeral's weren't the right time?"

"I didn't want to say goodbye to their dead bodies. I wanted to say hello to someone else. I have to go, or my neighbors will notice I'm gone. But I will be back. You can count on it."

I creep back up to my room before my mother sees me. At a quarter to seven I gulp down a bowl of hot chicken soup my mother made and head towards the woods. Prim follows me, leaving me at the fence. "Good luck," she says. Gale waits at the rock. He is singing to the mockingjays. They are silent. As soon as he sees me, he finishes. They take up his song.

"Katniss."

"Gale."

"I want to talk first. No interrupting." I find myself nodding, and he continues. "I love you, Katniss, but me loving you isn't enough. Since you don't love me- maybe we should just go back to being friends."

"Gale, I'm sick of this. All these stand-offs, and peace meetings. I can't believe Prim is making me say this," I mutter, and Gale laughs. " I-I might be in love with you. I don't know. Maybe we should just be-" Despite his promise to not interrupt, I find myself stopped by a kiss. He leans over me, kissing me deeply. After a moment, I kiss him back.

He flips us around so I am on top of him. We kiss passionately for a few moments, until the small voice at the back of my mind nagging me makes me pull back.

"Katniss?" Gale says, panting slightly.

"Gale, I-"

"You can't honestly say after something like that that we should just be friends."

Staring at him, I feel a more powerful feeling then I ever felt with Peeta. For some reason, it terrifies me. I cant think of a way to answer. Instead, I lean in and kiss him I pull away, he's smiling. He sits up, pulling me towards him.

"Don't talk," he whispers. "Just- savor the moment."

We sit in the woods, listening to the mockingjays. After a while, I sit up straight. Gale is watching me. I start to sing.

_"I can't get enough of you when you speak to my softly._

_When you kiss my bare neck with your soft lips._

_I can't stop myself, I fall in love with you slowly_

_Again and again, it feels the world ceases to exist._

_"The river is high and it overflows with emotion_

_The sea is so deep just like your gray eyes _

_I just want to escape with you, run far away, run till the pain is all over _

_So we can lay down on the grass and just look at the sky._

_"Do you know that for us the sky is the limit?_

_Don't you know how happy we'll be if they just let us be?_

_We can climb mountains together and at some point nothing will matter_

_All that will matter is I have you and that you have me._

_"Now would you take my hand and take me to heaven?_

_Take me to some place where they will let us belong_

_Make me forget the world as if it did not matter_

_Stand by me, help me be strong." _

After a moment the mockingjays take up my song. The younger ones who cannot copy such a complex tune continue Gale's song. They combine and form a harmony. I smile, and sink back into Gale's arms. He stares at me.

"Your voice is beautiful," he finally says. I smile at him, and listen to the sound of our two songs mingling.

We stay to watch the sunset over the trees. It's beautiful. Then, by the light of the half moon, we sneak back under the fence.

He kisses me goodnight. "I'll see you tommorrow morning, Katniss."

"See you."

"I love you," he says. I kiss him again.

"I love you too."

When I get home, there is no one there. I sit on the couch for a while before Prim and my mother come home. Prim immediately notices me. "You're- you're glowing." My mother smiles slightly. "I take it everything went well, then?"

I nod. "Everything was perfect."

"Well, now both my girl's have boyfriends. I'm going to be sitting home alone in no time," my mother says, her joking tone not completely covering up her slight sadness. Prim gets up and gives her a hug.

"Maybe we should get you one too," she says. My mother smiles when they're is a knock on the door. I open it to see a man.

"Dad?"

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)**


	22. Fire

**A/N: Eep! I forgot to update yesterday! I'm sorry- I'll do a double update today! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**Note: My tumblr is **likesblaine **for anyone who is interested :)**

"Dad?" It doesn't make any sense to me. How can the man standing before me be my father if my father is dead?

"Hello, Katniss." His voice is not the one I remember. Slowly, his face morphs into the familiar yet frightening face of President Snow.

"Hello Katniss," he says again. "You are mine now." Slowly, I tumble into blackness.

When I wake, I am sitting on the couch in the living room. Prim in next to me. "Katniss?" she says worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Where's Snow?" I ask frantically, before my thoughts immediately go to Gale.

"Snow? I don't know. We came home and you were asleep on the couch.

Desperately I think of my time with Gale. That couldn't have been a dream too. "Prim- Prim did you walk me to the woods to see Gale?"

"Of course," she sounds even more befuddled then she already was.

"Oh, thank God," I sigh and sit back in my chair.

"I take it everything went well then?" she asks with a smile.

"You have no idea." The sound of an explosion in the distance distracts me. I perk my head up, listening for more. Like a popcorn popping, more explosions keep coming. It's only a matter of time before they catch fire in a coal-coated District. I run towards the door and stick my head out, watching as the Hob catches fire. I hold my breath, watching burning people streaming out, screaming.

I find myself screaming too. "Mother!" I yell helplessly. "Mother!" She hurries to the door and together we watch as the Seam and Village are lit on fire. Only Victor's Village and the Woods remain safe.

Suddenly, my thoughts turn to Gale and his family. The Seam. No, no no no- I dash out the door, leaping over the incoming fireballs.

"Katniss!" Prim calls my name, but I ignore her, racing through the gaps of the flame. I find Gale's house as one of the few that didn't light- not yet. Gale is holding Vick, whose leg seems to be injured, and Hazelle has Posy. Rory stands behind them.

"Gale," I say breathlessly.

"Katniss! What are you doing?"

"They haven't bombed Victor's Village! Its safe there! Come on!"

"Take Vick. I'm getting the neighbors."

I am about to argue when I look down at Vick's leg. You can see clear to the bone. It makes me want to hurl, but I know my mother will fix him. I nod, touching his face. "Hurry back to me." I whisper. He kisses me desperately then takes off through the grass towards the other houses, the refugees standing desperately on the roofs.

I lead Hazelle back to the house, and miraculously they are all okay. My mother takes one look at Vick and tells Prim to ready the table. They start to work on his leg.

I wait anxiously on the front porch. Watching the fires die down, then reignite as they find the source of coal they need to burn. I start to wonder if I should go back for Gale, if he could get here through the fire, when miraculously he appears. He is leading a group of ash-coated strangers. I run towards him, ignoring the crowd, and kiss him full on the mouth. I lead the people to Haymitch's house, figuring he should at least know what's going on.

He answers the door on the first knock. "Get in," he says urgently. Confused, I do as he says.

"The Peacekeepers will be doing rounds tonight to see who survived. Gale and his family are okay at your house because they know you are friends but these people?" He points to the refugees. "They aren't."

"We can't just leave them though!"

"Fine. Come here." He leads us towards the kitchen, shoving aside a sliding cabinet more easily then he should be able to. A small room is behind it.

"You can stay there. I'll give you some food." Suddenly, there is a knock on the door.

"Hide!" He throws the last person in and rushes to get the door, immediately pretending o be drunk. We follow him.

"'ello," he says, stumbling a bit at the door and leaning on the frame for support.

"Why are you here?" The Peacekeeper at the door asks suspiciously.

"We were checking on him," I answer quickly.

"And you?" he asks, pointing his flashlight at Gale.

"I was with Katniss and her family at the time of the disaster."

"Fine." He walks away, leaving the door ajar. We carefully head back to my house, watching out for the still burning piles of embers beneath our feet.

When we get back inside I hurry to the telephone. I try calling Finnick, but there isn't an answer. I try Lilah, Gabe, Mags, anybody, everybody, then back to Finnick. Not a singe person answers. After a few seconds of ringing, the tone simply goes flat.

Everyone is waiting at the table, anxious.

"Is everyone okay?" I ask immediately.

"Everyone is fine- or will be. Vick will heal although- well, he might never be able to fully use his leg. I'm afraid he will have a limp for the rest of his life."

A few minutes of silence follows her statement. "Are- are you sure?" Hazelle asks, her voice hoarse.

"Yes."

Gale bangs his fist of the table, making us all jump. "This is all my fault! If I had gotten to him sooner-"

"Gale. No. You can't blame yourself," I interrupt him. "This isn't your fault. But what I don't understand is why they didn't set Victor's Village on fire too."

"I guess they figured the Capitol would be too upset if they destroyed the victor's," Gale says hollowly.

"But won't that look suspicious? I mean, only Victor's Village safe?"

"They'll put it down to the cleanness, the lack of coal, the electric appliances. They'll have some excuse."

"Wait. So we're sure the Capitol did this?" It's Prim speaking.

"Yes. I mean, who else would? It's too big to be an accidental fire."

"But why? What was their motive?"

"I don't know! The boy in the arena dying, and Haymitch. It might have been enough to start an uprising."

"You think so?" Prim asks.

"Yes."

Gale interrupts. "Then I have something to tell you. I- I went to Madge's house, to deliver some strawberries, and when I went into her father's office the TV was on. It was saying something about an uprising in Five. And minor disturbances in Three, Four, Six, Eight, and Ten. I think- I think we might be in the middle of a rebellion."

"Well, what do we do now?"

"It's obvious isn't it? They've bombed our homes, handicapped Vick, killed hundreds- or thousands. We fight back."

I wake up next to Prim again. Posy and Hazelle took her bed, Rory and Vick stole the guest room. Gale slept on the couch. I silently slide out of bed, doing my best not to shake the mattress.

Downstairs, Gale is already awake. He holds a steaming cup of coffee. I inhale the scent deeply. I love the smell, but hate the taste. I make myself a cup of hot chocolate, then rejoin Gale on the couch. He has started a fire, and the cold house is already warming up. I nestle in next to him. We sit, staring at the flames until we can hear the sounds of people walking around upstairs. We carefully separate until we are just sitting next to each other and holding hands.

Vick is the first to appear, limping. "Hey Gale," he says. My mother wrapped his leg several times in thick gauze, adding a paste over it. She says she'll cut it off today, and add a new one.

"Well," he says, a mischievous grin on his small face. "Have you too been together all night?"

"Shut up," Gale says, but you can almost hear the smile in his voice.

Rory and Prim come down together, holding hands. Prim blushes when she sees me, but Rory just smiles at us. "Morning Gale. Morning Katniss."

Hazelle is down next, and she starts cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later my mother comes down just in time for platters of eggs, bacon, toast, and fresh fruit.

"I'm not used to cooking with so much!" Hazelle says, a touch of excitement in her voice. I immediately feel guilty for not sharing before, but I remind myself that Gale wouldn't let me. Until now. I turn to talk to him but instead my attention is caught by Vick, Rory, and Posy. They are staring open-mouthed at the plates of food before them.

Prim smiles handing Posy a plate. "Fill it up with whatever you want."

"Whatever?" Posy asks, her eyes wide.

Prim smiles. "Whatever." Posy hurries up to the platter of bacon and grabs a huge handful. Everyone bursts out laughing, breaking the tension, and they grab a plate.

After we stuff ourselves until we're bursting, we go to the 'parlor'. At least, me, Gale, my mother, and Hazelle do. Prim and Rory are in charge of watching Posy and Vick.

"We need to figure this out," my mother says a moment after we sit down.

"I agree," Hazelle says. "We can't tell the kids there is a rebellion if there isn't one. Who knows who they'd tell?"

It seems as though they have forgotten we are in the room. A moment later I clear my throat. Their heads jerk forward, their eyes resting on me.

"Katniss?" my mother asks, as though waiting for me to ask her a question.

"I- we all know it's a rebellion. Gale saw the television, they set us on fire, and I haven't been able to reach anyone. What else could this possibly be?"

"It could just be a strange set of coincidences," my mother says.

"Don't be naive mother!" I explode, standing up. "This is war. Sitting here, though it will keep us safe, will not help us beat the Capitol! And if we don't- do you want to live in hunger and poverty? Do you want twenty three tributes to die every year?"

"Katniss," Gale's voice is soothing. "Sit down."

I sink back into the cushions reluctantly. My mother's face is ashen.

"I'm sorry, Mother, but it's true. if we don't act, we will die."

"She's right," Hazelle says, breaking the awkward tension. "We can't expect other people to lay down their lives, fighting this war for us. We need to fight, and we need to win. Otherwise, who knows what the Capitol will do this time?"

She lets the words hang in the open, like a threat. A moment later, there is a light tapping on the door.

"Mommy?" It's Posy's voice, sweet and innocent. "Mommy?"

"Coming sweetheart," Hazelle says. She turns to us. "I think we should leave this until tomorrow." We all nod. The rest of the day is a dull, flat blur. We spend it inside, Rory and Vick moaning as what I am sure is manufactured rain pours down, putting out the last of the small fires.

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :)**

******EDIT: Currently under the revision process. One chapter will be posted a day! (Hopefully)**


	23. Thirteen

**A/N: Double update! Also- wow, how did I not notice this? This is the last chapter. Eeek! So, I've started the sequel for this. I've taken it down to work on it, and it'll have the same update policy as this. Thanks so much to anyone who reviewed/favorited/or alerted this. I got over 195 alerts and you guys just- i love you guys. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**Note: My tumblr is **likesblaine **for anyone who is interested :)**

The next morning, I can almost forget what happened. But it's nagging me at the back of my mind, always. Posy suggests we go outside, but all morning it rains, hard.

Madge comes by at noon, sopping wet despite her makeshift umbrella. She's shivering. Gale opens the door. "Madge!" He sounds surprised. "Come in here, you must be freezing."

I step into the hall, and can't help the slightly cold expression that comes across my face. Despite the million reminders to myself that none of this was her fault I can't stop myself from thinking that she could have stopped him.

"Katniss!" She clearly knows something as wrong when I burst in on her and Gale, but she pretends to hide it. "Where have you been?"

"The Capitol," I say, too surprised she asked such a stupid question to come up with a good comeback.

"Oh," she says, blushing. "I forgot."

How could you forget that someone went to the Capitol to mentor soon-to-be-dead kids?

"But- ummm..." She seems extremely uncomfortable.

"Why did you come over?" Gale asks, obviously trying to change the topic.

"I- I don't really know." She looks confused, making me wonder what the heck is going on with her.

"You had to come over for something," I say, more then slightly annoyed. "What was it?"

"I- I wanted to find Gale," she admits, her head hung slightly.

"Why?" I do my best not to sound furious.

"I saw the houses that were burned down," she says shakily. "The bodies..."

"You've seen them?" I ask quickly. She nods. "How many?"

"Hundreds," she says, shuddering. "Burned black, lying there, twisted, bones..." She looks as though she is going to be sick.

"Are you okay?" Gale asks with concern.

After a moment she nods. "Don't show the kids," she says quickly. "They'll have nightmares for days."

For some reason the word nightmare makes me think of the Games.

"I want to see them," I say quickly.

"The kids?" Madge seems confused.

"No. The bodies."

The bodies are black and wrinkled, surrounded in black mud formed by rain and ashes. Occasionally, you see a patch of white mud, formed by the white ashes. We come across a whole human head lying facedown in the ground. The mud around it is tinged red. I feel as though I am going to vomit.

I feel Gale's hand on my shoulder and look up at him. His face clearly states that he knows we both want to run away, and he isn't about to let me. I nod at him.

When I look away Madge is watching us. She blushes and looks away when she notices me staring at her.

We go to Gale's house first. He sits in the ashes, finding a twisted knife among them. I recognize it as his hunting knife. When he returns to me, he also holds a picture frame in his hands. It's tarnished, but hasn't been melted by the fire. It holds a picture of his father, Gale, Rory, and Vick, a pregnant Hazelle next to him. They are all laughing, and happy.

"Let's go," Gale says, his voice hoarse.

Automatically, I walk towards the ruin that used to be my home. Gale follows. Its a black lump at the side of the woods. White flakes of ash float down around it. The only pieces of wood that are charred, but not ashes, are the foundation and part of the west wall and roof.

The wooden chest my mother had so carefully kept all those years is blackened almost beyond recognition.

A silver frame is gnarled within the pile of burned wood, next to a small silver box, with only a few twists and turns I'm sure it would not have had earlier.

The lock has melted in the fire. I open it up gingerly, somehow expecting the hinges to squeak. The inside of the box is cushioned in black velvet. Nestled in the hollow in the center of the box is a old stone key inset with diamonds.

I gasp in disbelief. This wasn't placed here after I became a victor. Dust lingers on the dull surface. I blow and find that not only is the rounded part inset with diamonds, the ridges of the key are set in them too.

I wonder what could possibly be so valuable that it requires a diamond key to open it, and then I wonder why my mother kept this, not even selling it when we were starving. Gale walks in behind me, not bothering to walk quietly but managing it anyway.

"Katniss?"

"One- one moment." I slip the key back into the silver box and slide it into the pocket of my faded leather hunting jacket. Other then the gnarled silver frame, the box is empty.

I turn to face Gale. "I'm ready."

We turn and head back to my new home. I don't look back.

Mid-afternoon there's a knock on the door and Haymitch bursts in, sopping wet. He's dripping mud all over the carpet. My mother walks in, sees the mess, and sighs. She hurries into the kitchen, returning with a ratty old towel and tossing it towards him. He wipes himself halfheartedly, taking off his sturdy work boots.

"We can go outside!" Posy shrieks, running up to us with a goofy smile on her face. I force one onto my own face.

"Nope," Gale says. "It's still raining."

She frowns before running back down the hall.

I turn to look at Haymitch. "Why are you here?"

"Can't a guy just want some company?" I see him staring behind me. I follow his gaze, and see it's planted on Vick, who is watching me intently.

"Come upstairs," I say, turning to lead Haymitch upstairs. I don't stop to see if he follows.

I lead them to the store room upstairs, empty aside from a few wooden chairs. I shut the door and lock it behind us. I don't have to shut the blinds- there isn't a window.

I sit down on a upturned wooden box, leaving Gale and Haymitch a chair each, and they sit, Gale unwillingly.

"We couldn't talk in front of Rory," I say.

"Actually, you know, we shouldn't be talking in here at all," Haymitch says. "It's bugged."

Gale looks at me with wide eyes. I have a similar sense of panic.

"You guys talked in here, didn't you?" Haymitch says but he doesn't seem surprised or dejected.

"Yes."

"It's a good thing that I disconnected the bugs then."

"Wait- what?"

"I disconnected them a few days ago."

"When?"

"Well, I didn't actually do it. Remember the 'painter' sent by the Capitol?"

I think back, but I can't. "No."

He sighs. "Well, there was one. You might not have been here. But he was actually a Seam coal miner. I had to pay him handsomely, but I told him I was speaking for the Capitol and they needed him to disconnect some cameras the paparazzi put in there. So, it's a good thing I had the foresight to do that."

"Great. But, anyway, why did you come over?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the rebellion. I assume you know what I'm talking about."

"Of course," Gale answers for both of us.

"You know that, in a way, I was the match that started the fire," Haymitch says. I do my best to look shocked.

"But Katniss- you're a big part of it too. You and the symbol of Orville. "

"Me?" I actually am surprised this time.

"You are the original girl on fire. Most of the soldiers won't have been alive for my Games or they can't remember them. I was rebellious in that too, but the Capitol hasn't replayed it since. Everyone feels bad for the lone star crossed lover. And everyone is furious about the death of an innocent five year old boy. A bloody, violent death broadcast for the whole world to see."

"And they aren't used to that? Are you kidding me? They force and watch people die every year." My voice is angry, almost resentful.

"They are accustomed to watching somewhat older children die. A five year old- I'm not saying it's right, but didn't it tear you up a bit more then Ambrosia's death? Or Thresh's?"

"Of course! He's five!"

"They agree! He's innocent and I think deep down every Capitol citizen knows that what they are doing is wrong."

Gale snorts, but I have seen these people. I still don't agree with Haymitch, but I do think they are genuinely unhappy about the child's death.

"You haven't met them," Haymitch points out. "Sure, the Gamemakers are terrible and so are all the other people associated with running the Games, but most of the people there don't know what they're doing is wrong. They don't know about life before it was like this, so they think it's okay that they're like that. And even a few associated with the games- Caesar Flickerman, for example- genuinely do try to help us."

"What happened to all the other victor's?" I change the subject to keep Gale from punching Haymitch.

"I honestly don't know. I was in touch with them a few days ago and suddenly I couldn't get a hold of Finnick, and when I tried One , Two, and Three, they didn't pick up either. The next day, Gabe and Lilah were gone. Then Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten. I tried Eleven yesterday, and they didn't answer either. I think that something is going on. Either the Capitol is taking the victor's, or something is happening- something that is coming this way."

"What are we supposed to do?"

"I have no idea."

Suddenly, Rory bursts into the room. "There's a man downstairs." He turns and runs away. Confused, I hurry downstairs, Gale on my heels and Haymitch a few feet behind him. A man dressed in all black stands at the door. He doesn't come in the door, but has a gun holstered at his hip. Before I know what has happened, Haymitch has moved incredibly fast and has his knife at the man's throat. The man looks shocked, but I am not. It's a reminder of the old, victor buried deep down in Haymitch.

"Who are you?" He snarls viciously, pressing the knife harder against the man's throat.

"I'm from- I'm from Thirteen," he chokes out, gagging as Haymitch releases him.

"What?" I ask, not believing him.

"I'm from District Thirteen."

******A/N: Review or PM me with comments :) THANK YOU FOR READING MY STORY!**


	24. AN

**A/N:**

**Wow! Okay, so first of all thanks for the feedback and everyone anxiously awaiting the sequel, and a few asking for another chapter.**

**The thing is... the sequel is already posted. I already put up the first chapter and the second is going up sometime today.**

**It's called _Flickering Flame, _and it's one of the first things on my profile. So go check it out, and don't forget feedback (because I'm addicted to feedback to be honest)**

**Thanks for your kind comments, and thanks once again for reading this at all!  
**

**-wingsofasparrow **


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